


Song of Sirens

by lala_pipo



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Happy Ending, M/M, Romance, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-05 22:50:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20281165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lala_pipo/pseuds/lala_pipo
Summary: Prompt summary: Taemin used to be a Siren. For centuries, his enticing voice has lured sailors to their doom. In the present day, he's trying to put that all behind him as he works as a singer in a bar. Jonghyun is pursuing a Master's degree in ancient Greek Classics. In his spare time, he frequents the bar Taemin works at and can't help but be drawn to his voice, and Taemin can't help being drawn to Jonghyun.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The only reason I wanted to participate in this SHINee fic fest was this prompt and I really want to thank the person who sent it in from the bottom of my heart because I enjoyed working on it so much. I love Greek mythology and JongTae a lot therefore this prompt spoke to me on so many levels that I spent at least two weeks just researching stuff I could turn into the plot of a fanfic... I went ten steps further with this prompt and took a slightly different route than what the original prompt probably asked for (or expected to see written), but I hope the person who sent the prompt will still be able to enjoy this story. I always wanted to write something fantasy related, so there is that.
> 
> Thanks a lot to the dear people who put this little fest together and were so patient with the writers and organized everything so nicely! I hope there will be another fest in future as well since this world needs more SHINee fics. 
> 
> Last but not least a special shout out to my pikku enkeli! Without her this story would have been abandoned after 2000 words. Thank you for letting me pour all my random thoughts and worries into our chatroom and listen to me patiently. This meant a lot to me. You are awesome! *inserts a gif of Pikachu who gives you a thumbs up and throws flowers at you. He also hands you rum with raisins icecream, but judges you super hard while doing so :P* 
> 
> I really hope people will enjoy reading this story! Thank you!
> 
> Edit: Side note regarding the Warning. As we probably all know - Greek Mythology can be quite violent, that's why I chose that warning. But it's not that bad and only applies to a fraction of the story. :)

**Prologue **

**13th century B.C. - Ancient Greece - Mount Olympus**

** **

ersephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and goddess of spring, kneeled in a field of wildflowers, their velvety petals rich in color and their scent so beguiling that they summoned the young woman to pick them up and place them carefully in a wicker basket one by one as a gift to her mother. Next to her sat her most beloved companions Thelxiepeia and Aglaopheme, children of Achelous, the god of all waters and rivers, and the Muse Melpomene. The two Nymphs possessed the unmistakable beauty of their mother and loyally served Persephone, watching out for the young goddess in her mother’s stead ever since she had opened her eyes for the first time.

  
“Look at that flower Persephone, isn’t it beautiful?” Thelxiepeia exclaimed and plucked a single poppy, carefully taking Persephone’s hand to place it in her palm.

  
“Not as beautiful as you, my dear,” the goddess spoke in a soft tone, her voice as enchanting as her pristine face was. Thelxiepeia looked down, cheeks flushed in embarrassment, a small smile tugging at her plush lips when Persephone leaned forward to tuck the flower behind her ear, gently brushing the Nymph’s face when she pulled back.

  
“You flatter me too much,” she said in a whisper and went back to help Persephone collect more flowers, the young goddess roguishly giggling at the Nymph’s response and skidding closer to peck her on the cheek. Persephone was playful and lively, zealously trying to please everyone she met. She was Demeter’s favorite child and cherished by her like life itself.

  
“Am I not much prettier than Thelxiepeia, Persephone?” Aglaopheme asked sweetly and stood up, dropping a courtesy in front of the goddess, hands holding onto her sheer robe, golden locks falling over her shoulders and down to her hips. Aglaopheme was the more outgoing one of the two Nymphs, flirting with everyone and flaunting her beauty, using her appearance to get what she wanted. Thelxiepeia was the complete opposite; shy and reserved, not aware what an astonishing beauty she was.

  
“You two are both very pretty, Aglaopheme,” Persephone answered them kindly, always choosing the diplomatic path, not wanting to cause hurt to anyone. With a little dissatisfied pout, the Nymph sat back down in the grass again and plucked at the daisies in front of her a little unwillingly, repeatedly mumbling to herself that she was the prettier one.

  
In the evening the Nymphs dined together with the twelve Olympians, feeding on Ambrosia and wine, Aglaopheme already sitting in Hermes lap and lightheartedly feeding him grapes long before the clock had struck midnight. Meanwhile Persephone who in general didn’t like to mingle in the decadent affairs of the Olympians seemed to be even more repulsed by the ebullience of the gods that night and gently tugged on Thelxiepeia’s hand after she couldn’t bear to be in the presence of the twelve anymore, asking her if she was tired as well and wanted to go to bed. The Nymph who rarely left the goddess’ side nodded, heart fluttering in her chest as Persephone smiled at her.

  
Knowing what soon would follow, the Nymph followed Persephone in anticipation, gently holding onto her hand as the goddess led her to the bedchambers and closed the door behind them. Thelxiepeia had no time to speak before she already found herself embraced by Persephone, the goddess pressing herself closer against the Nymph, burying her face into her neck.

  
“My love, I’m afraid,” she whispered, the Nymph closing her eyes in response to concentrate on Persephone’s lovely, flowery scent.

  
Gently stroking her long black hair, Thelxiepeia asked: “Why is that, my love?”

  
“I heard my father talking to Hades, that ungodly bastard,” she muttered angrily and let go of the Nymph to step over to her bed where she opened the golden flower brooch that kept her white toga in place, the light fabric falling from her narrow shoulders with a flutter, leaving her completely bare in the shine of the moon except for the brown sandals on her feet.

  
Despite having seen Persephone like this for so many times in the past, Thelxiepeia still found it difficult to breathe whenever the goddess took off her clothes around her, the Nymph slowly making her way over to her to stroke her hair away and press a light kiss to her exposed nape.

  
“What did he say?”

  
Persephone turned around then, brows deeply furrowed, and the corners of her lips sullenly pulled down. She didn’t say anything for a while, instead, she slowly began to open the silky rose-colored ribbons on the Nymph’s robe one by one until she had revealed the skin underneath, hands reaching forward to gently cup Thelxiepeia’s small breasts in her palms.

  
“Hades asked father for my hand in marriage,” she finally muttered, upset, eyes fixed on the Nymph’s bosom before she looked up again, her beautiful big eyes filled with tears. In spite of the news, Thelxiepeia tried to stay calm for Persephone’s sake, tried to be reasonable as she motioned for the goddess to sit down on the bed to calm down.

  
She then kneeled in front of the goddess’ spread legs and bedded her head on her thigh, kissing it gently while saying “Demeter wouldn’t ever allow that to happen, my love. Your father wouldn’t allow it. Don’t worry, no one is going to take you away from me. I would fight anyone who tries,” to cheer Persephone up. Thelxiepeia’s speech seemed to bear fruit because Persephone smiled down at her tenderly and quietly pulled her up, sinking into the cushions when the Nymph climbed on top of her, straddling her thighs.

  
“I love you so much, Thelxiepeia,” Persephone whispered and closed her eyes when the Nymph leaned down to kiss her, soft and sweet like all the kisses they shared were. “We will stay together forever, right?” she then asked, needing the Nymph’s confirmation.

  
“Of course,” was the answer like it had been for the past twenty years, a pledge that had started as a pinky promise during their childhood and had developed a meaning that ran so much deeper than any words could express. “Of course” the Nymph repeated again and again as she slowly crawled down the goddess’ body, bathing her in kisses until she lowered her head and buried it between Persephone’s thighs, coaxing the most beautiful sounds out of the goddess’ mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

**Present day – South Korea - Seoul**

** **

onghyun lay sprawled out on the couch with a heavy book in his hands, reading out in a lofty voice “Then fleet-footed Achilles gave his answer: ‘Odysseus of the nimble wits, royal son of Laertes, I will tell you straight out how I feel, and how things must be, to save you sitting there beside me, dealing in endless talk. Hateful as Hades’ Gate, to me, is the man who thinks one thing and says another. So here is my decision. Neither Agamemnon nor any other Greek will change my mind, for it seems there is no gratitude for ceaseless battle with our enemies. He who fights his best and he who stays away earn the same reward, the coward and the brave man win like honor, death comes alike to the idler and to him who toils. No profit to me from my sufferings, endlessly risking my life in war. I am like the bird that brings every morsel she finds to her unfledged chicks, and goes hungry herself. I watched through many a sleepless night, and fought through many a blood-stained day, battling warriors for the sake of their women.”  
  
He paused to think for a moment and then cited in Greek “Echthrós gár moi keínos omós Aḯdao pýlisin ós ch᾽ éteron mén kéfthi ení fresín, állo dé eípi”, before he suddenly closed the book with a snap and sat up, eyeing his roommate Minho sulkily from the side who busied himself with playing an ego-shooter game on the armchair next to him, the repeated banging of gunshots blaring through the speakers of his laptop.  
  
Jonghyun harrumphed before he nudged his friend’s knee with the tip of his foot and repeated in Korean “Hateful as Hades’ Gate, to me, is the man who thinks one thing and says another.”  
  
When Minho didn’t even bother to look up from his task for a second Jonghyun lunged out and gave his leg a hefty kick, resulting in his friend yelping in pain, and swearing under his breath.  
  
“Dude, what the fuck!” he exclaimed and rubbed his shin, “What was that for?”  
  
Wrinkling his nose, Jonghyun looked at his roommate with narrowed eyes, claiming “For existing! You said you wanted to help me and yet you sit here, dulling your mind by playing this stupid game.”  
  
“It’s not stupid. It’s Overwatch!” Minho replied in his defense and set his laptop aside on the coffee table, his character Winston, a nerdy-looking gorilla in a metal suit dying immediately through the weapon of one of Minho’s opponents. He looked at the screen a little morosely, but then decided to let it go and concentrate his attention on Jonghyun who looked quite displeased with him.  
  
“So, what do you want me to do?” he asked and stretched out his legs until his toes could touch the table.  
  
Jonghyun pouted now, something he was incredibly good at with his big brown eyes and sulky lips that made you feel like you had just kicked a puppy even if you hadn’t done anything wrong. He straightened up and let out a long deep sigh, whining exaggeratedly “You wanted to help me with my speech.”  
  
“But it’s in fucking Greek, Jonghyun. I told you it doesn’t make any sense if you practice your speech in front of me because it’s all fucking Greek to me. No pun intended!” Minho tried to explain reasonably and got up from his chair, not daring to look any longer at his roommate whose bottom lip started quivering dangerously.  
  
“But you promised! You can help me with posture and demeanor. No need to understand what I’m saying,” Jonghyun asserted and got up himself, giving Minho a little playful nudge while batting his eyelashes at him.  
  
“Bro, you don’t make sense. You are giving a speech in front of the Greek Embassy because of the fucking nerd you are. You will rock that shit no matter what.” Minho gave Jonghyun’s shoulder a supportive squeeze which was supposed to tell him that Minho was with him in spirit, but that he wouldn’t listen to a twenty-minute monologue in a language he didn’t understand.  
  
“Thanks for nothing I guess,” Jonghyun murmured, his shoulders slouching as he gave his best interpretation of the deceived roommate, a returning classic in their household. The two of them had met at a party during freshman year, bonding over their awful roommates at their dorm while enjoying a bottle of cheap beer. Minho, a history major and Jonghyun, a student of classical philology, had gotten along right away and just two months later they had decided to leave their dorms and move into a tiny flat in the outskirts of Seoul. Commuting to university had been hell in comparison to their former dorms which had been located right on the campus of their university, but the rent was affordable for two undergraduate students with part-time jobs, so they didn’t dare to complain. Four years later and the two of them still lived together though Minho had graduated a year ago with a Bachelor’s degree and worked as a tutor in one of the many cram schools in Seoul now. Jonghyun had decided early on that he wanted to pursue a Master’s degree and was now studying Ancient Greek Classics while working at his department’s library, his job allowing him to spend his afternoon with burying his nose in old books because visitors who wanted to borrow something were rare.  
  
“You are the Odysseus to my Polyphemus,” Jonghyun concluded with a tint of hurt in his voice as he was about to turn around and leave for his room; a 5m² shoebox that barely fit a mattress and had been used as a storage room before the two of them had moved into this two-room apartment. A game of rock-paper-scissors had decided Jonghyun’s fate of living like Harry Potter at the Dursley’s house while the actual rooms had been turned into a shared living room and Minho’s domicile.  
  
Minho cocked his head in confusion and had to think about the comparison for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed and he asked: “You are a Cyclops and I stabbed you in the eye with a wooden stick while you were sleeping?”  
  
“Yes, at least it feels like that to me.”  
  
“You are ridiculous,” Minho replied with a huff and rolled his eyes, watching as Jonghyun came to a halt in front of his room and braced his hand against the door frame.  
  
“Top ten Greek mythology betrayals,” he said at last before he opened the door to his room and slammed it shut behind himself, yelling “Sorry, that was the wind,” right after, making his roommate shake his head with a smile on his face.  
  
“You are a nerd!” was the last thing Minho shouted in amusement as he went back to his laptop and settled down in the armchair again for another round of Overwatch.

  
  
~*~

  
  
The clinking of glasses, the pushing of chairs, hushed laughter and hurried footsteps, all combined with drunken blarney was nothing that could make Jonghyun lose focus, his ears piously following the honeyed voice floating through the bar; its sound so sweet and piercing that goosebumps covered his arms and nape. He suppressed the urge to close his eyes and lose himself in it, fingers absentmindedly rubbing the paper of an opened book placed in front of him. Carrying books around and taking them to a bar might have appeared odd to regular people, but Jonghyun didn’t just take them to bars, he also studied them there – which frankly speaking might appear even odder to some.  
  
He claimed that lively surroundings helped him concentrate whenever Minho or one of his other friends had made fun of him for being a nerdy stuck-up who couldn’t even relax while they were at a bar. However, that was only partly true. Jonghyun couldn’t concentrate on reading books in a foreign language just in any bar, it was just this particular one in a small alley in Hongdae that made ancient Greek appear easier to him. His friends would have called him a lovestruck teenager if he had told them that it was that specific voice that helped him concentrate, but it was the simple, blatant truth. Hearing that voice let him explore undiscovered spaces in his mind, it felt like he was reliving the stories he read about, found himself in the bodies of Achilles and Odysseus, hid in the Trojan horse to fight the Trojans, fell in love with Paris and Helen, felt like he was breathing in the salty air of the Mediterranean Sea and could hear seagulls screeching close to his ear. It only ever happened when this specific voice echoed through the tiny dim lighted bar which was always occupied by students from the surrounding universities. He had tested out other places in the past few months just to confirm his theory, the realization that he wasn’t just imagining things after his inability to read a single sentence in at least ten other buildings, making him question his sanity at first. However, by now he had accepted his little quirk and came here whenever he was stuck with understanding something, that angelic voice helping him to see things clearly again.  
  
“What are we reading today? You are always bringing the boring stuff around.”  
  
When Jonghyun looked up from his book, Kibum, one of the co-owners of the little bar called _Maison de l'arc-en-ciel_ leaned over the bar and collected the empty glass of coke that stood in front of Jonghyun to clean it in the sink.  
  
“It’s still the _Iliad_. Never heard of someone who considered war as boring,” Jonghyun replied, grinning when Kibum shrugged nonchalantly and grabbed a cloth to wipe down the space next to him. Kibum was a quirky guy with multi-colored hair and an attitude that was hard to come by in Seoul. He carried his heart on his tongue, but wasn’t rude while doing it.  
  
“I prefer those banging stories about Zeus fucking around. I mean those old Greeks were nuts. I’m always wondering what kind of drugs they used. I mean, come on – Zeus seducing women as a bull. Sign me up for that shit,” he explained expressively, winking at Jonghyun when said one held his fist in front of his mouth to stifle a laugh. Kibum was good with people, always making them feel welcome and comfortable especially when they came alone. He was on a friendly basis with all his regulars, talking about topics they were interested in. Kibum could stir up a conversation about basically anything and make it interesting; be it current affairs on the Falkland Islands or another Kimchi recipe.  
  
“I’m just saying,” Kibum grinned mischievously with his arms raised, body turning when the other co-owner joined him behind the bar and greeted Jonghyun with a casual high-five and a kind smile.  
  
“Hey, Jonghyun, what’s up? Is this one rambling too much again?” Jinki asked and placed a tray with empty glasses on the bar to then dump them into the sink one by one.  
  
“Of course, when isn’t he?” Jonghyun teased and shared a quick amused laugh with Jinki which was only interrupted by Kibum huffing and hitting Jinki with the table cloth in his hand. The two were a good team, childhood friends with the same dream, as far as Jonghyun knew, complete opposites that worked together perfectly. While Kibum was the heart of the operation, the personification of what the little bar stood for, Jinki worked more in the background, doing the accounting and cleaning the tables while leaving the spotlight to Kibum. He was a good guy, always smiling brightly and coming up with the most random puns, patiently listening to people who got drunk at the bar and then unburdened their heart at 1 AM after having one too many bottles of soju.  
  
“Want something else to drink?” Jinki asked, already grabbing a clean glass from the counter behind him.  
  
“Another coke would be nice,” Jonghyun requested, the corners of his lips automatically curling upwards when Jinki smiled at him; his eyes all shiny and crinkly.  
  
“Our only guest who gets drunk on coke instead of soju. You know how much sugar there is in one bottle of coke?” Kibum asked in an almost condescending tone which resulted in Jonghyun provokingly taking a long, appreciative gulp from his glass of coke after Jinki had placed it in front of him, not breaking eye-contact with Kibum who merely rolled his eyes at him and called him a dumbass. Jonghyun knew he didn’t mean it, it was just the usual, informal tone that he used around the bar because Kibum hated the oppression of people through language and therefore had decided that he would talk to every guest the same way; be it a college student, a CEO of a company, or an elderly lady.  
  
A murmured “Thank you and have a good night,” let Jonghyun swirl around on his barstool, the enticing voice who helped him study, ringing pleasantly in his ears. The young man who belonged to that voice always made the insides of Jonghyun tingle and let him break out in a sweat, hands getting clammy whenever their eyes met. Heart fluttering in his chest Jonghyun hectically turned around and clung to his glass of coke for emotional support as soon as he saw the young man place his guitar back into its case and step from the stage to walk over to the bar.  
  
“Can you give me a Jack and Coke?”  
  
Jonghyun’s heart jumped in his chest when the man halted next to him, and he automatically lowered his gaze, watching the fingers next to him tap lightly on the counter, nails painted black, the nail polish already chipped at the tips.  
  
“Sure can do. Good set, Taeminnie. Loved the Nial Diamond cover,” Jinki replied and Jonghyun envied him for being able to speak so casually to the singer. Whenever Jonghyun dared to talk coherently to him he needed at least one bottle of soju in advance and an extra half an hour to prepare himself. That he had a crush on Taemin would have probably been an understatement. It was the voice, he persuaded himself. Everyone in the bar loved his voice, the sales having doubled ever since Jinki and Kibum had hired him because students regardless of gender were swooned by him and his androgynous appearance.  
  
“Thanks! Solitary man is my favorite of his,” Taemin replied, voice so velvety that it sent shivers down Jonghyun’s back. After Jinki had fixed him his drink Taemin rose his glass in gratitude and turned around, leaning his back against the bar to overview the guests, elbows resting coolly on top. He wore a loose black tank top and black, skinny jeans, the top of his shoulder-length light blonde dyed hair messily tied up into a ponytail, and single strands of hair framing his pretty face. He embodied Rock ‘n’ Roll in its purest form and Jonghyun would have done anything to comb his fingers through his hair just once.  
  
He only realized that he had been staring at Taemin when the other eyed him curiously, the tiniest wrinkle appearing between his brows before it was gone again.  
  
“Jonghyun, right?” he asked to be certain and Jonghyun had to swallow hard, pointer finger mechanically wandering up to his nose to push his round glasses further up. He hardly nodded, mouth feeling dry all of a sudden. They had talked before, sixteen times to be exact, not that Jonghyun counted. Their conversations had only ever lasted a few sentences, random small talks about unimportant things like the weather or the atmosphere in the bar, but it still hurt that Taemin acted as if he could barely remember his name. Regrettably, that was Taemin’s thing; he was cold and unapproachable, uncommunicative and quite reserved and yet Jonghyun found himself drawn to him as he had never done to anyone before in his life. When Jonghyun didn’t say anything Taemin cast a glance at his book and smirked before he looked straight ahead again to watch the people around them.  
  
“Who on earth still studies ancient Greek? Wouldn’t be Mandarin, Russian or Spanish be more helpful in today’s economy?” he asked disparagingly and took another sip from his drink, not looking at Jonghyun for even a split second.  
  
“I have no interest in today’s economy so I should be fine,” Jonghyun muttered hesitantly, feeling a vein throb in his forehead. He hated nothing more than people who looked down on him just because he had decided to study humanities instead of becoming a lawyer or an engineer.  
  
“Do you speak it though? Or is it the same with people who learn Latin? One memorizes a speech and some grammar and think they know everything about the language ala acta deos numquam mortalia fallunt?” Taemin asked then, taking another sip from his glass.  
  
Pressing his lips into a tight line Jonghyun turned away from Taemin and looked down at his book, not wanting to answer that question. He was sure that the other knew the answer himself. Ancient Greek was used to decipher old texts and not to go grocery shopping and discuss the latest gossip.  
  
“I speak modern Greek,” he said eventually, feeling defeated and humiliated. Jonghyun’s love for Greece and its history had already begun in his early childhood when he had discovered a book about Greek mythology in the library of his elementary school, the stories of the Gods fascinating him and letting the desire to see the places the stories talked about grow as time went on. Eventually, he had been able to visit the country for a year of work and travel after graduating from high school and had fallen in love with Greece all over again, making his decision of what to study at university all too easy for him.  
  
There was a pause before Jonghyun felt Taemin’s hand on his shoulder, the sensation making him twitch.  
  
“Na écheis mia ómorfi̱ méra,” Taemin uttered with a perfect accent, gave him a pat on the back and then left the bar to grab his guitar case from the stage, Jonghyun looking after him, flabbergasted.  
  
It took him a moment to process that sentence, the feeling of Taemin’s touch still lingering on his skin as he finally asked “Did he just wish me a nice day in Greek?” and blinked his eyes at Kibum who stood there behind the bar, mixing a drink.  
  
“I don’t speak Greek, so I have no idea,” Kibum replied indifferently, closed the lid of the shaker in front of him and started throwing it into the air for show. Not believing his ears, Jonghyun shook his head in bewilderment. He must have misheard something since Greek wasn’t a language that was taught in schools here, so where was he supposed to have picked it up? Maybe he had read it in a travel guide for Greece? It was the only logical conclusion Jonghyun could come up with.  
  
“Honey, don’t get your hopes up. Taemin is like the Chinese wall - impenetrable. I know what I’m talking about since I’ve tried my luck plenty of times by now, but either he isn’t into guys or just not into having fun. It’s a pity, isn’t it? He’s quite the looker,” Kibum stated out of nowhere, tossing the shaker in his hand from left to right and up and down before he poured the mixed drink into a glass. Jonghyun didn’t dare to correct Kibum by saying that there had been several incidents in history in which the Chinese wall, in fact, had been breached, but he got the sentiment, watching intently as a cocktail cherry found its way into the drink before it was placed on the tray for Jinki to carry over to a table.  
  
“I have no hopes whatsoever,” he countered a little sulkily, not wanting to discuss love matters with Kibum who was known for his long list of hook-ups.  
  
Kibum’s response was a snicker and he looked mildly at Jonghyun as if he wasn’t believing him. “You almost peed your pants when he came over. Your obnoxious roommate already told me that you have a thing for him. He’s cute, nothing shameful about admitting that, we all just need to know our place. He has that mysterious lone wolf aura going on while you–,” Kibum waited for a moment and eyed Jonghyun from head to toe. “You are a nerd.”  
  
“Don’t listen to him, Jonghyun. If I were into guys you’d be the first one I’d be asking out on a date,” Jinki intervened and sent Jonghyun an encouraging smile.  
  
“Thanks, Jinki.” Jonghyun blew him a kiss in return which Jinki caught by dramatically jumping up into the air, and pressing his fingers against his lips.  
  
“Don’t make me look like the bad guy here, I’m just saying. If I don’t have a chance I doubt Jonghyun will. Let’s just be realistic here,” Kibum shrugged, not understanding why his statement could have been seen as offensive in any way.  
  
Jinki patted Kibum’s shoulder then, giving it a little massage as he murmured “Man, I wish I had your confidence.”


	3. Chapter 3

**13th century B.C. – Ancient Greece – Mount Olympus**

** **

ersephone hummed a sweet melody with a content smile on her lips as she sat on the grass, a wicker basket placed in her lap which was filled with the loveliest flowers. It was a beautiful day in spring and she enjoyed the chirping of the birds who were looking for a partner, the males persuading the females with their colorful plumage. As usual, she spent her day with her two companions, Thelxiepeia braiding her hair while Aglaopheme dozed not far off under a cherry tree, being hungover from having too much wine on Mount Olympus the night before.  
  
“You have the prettiest voice, my love,” Thelxiepeia whispered as she weaved a flower into Persephone’s black, silky hair, the goddess cheekily turning her head and batting her eyelashes at her.  
  
“Not as pretty as yours though,” she replied, tipping her pointer finger playfully against the Nymph’s nose to make her smile. She then closed her eyes and pursed her lips, waiting to be kissed, Thelxiepeia gladly granting her that wish. Their kiss lingered, Persephone leaning into it with a hum, nothing but their lips touching in a sweet and innocent gesture.  
  
When the goddess broke away again, she completely turned around to face the Nymph. Taking both of her small hands into hers she kissed every knuckle and rubbed her thumbs over the soft flesh on the back of Thelxiepeia’s hands, whispering with a longing voice “I want to be with you forever, Thelxiepeia, I really do.”  
  
Heart beating frantically like the wings of a young bird during its first flight, the young Nymph looked kindly at Persephone, head cocked to the side, her cheeks flushed from the flattery. Liaisons between Nymphs and gods were nothing unusual, and most of the residents on Mount Olympus led a dissolute love life, Zeus alone having fifty four children, most of them conceived by different women – gods and humans alike, rich and poor ones, Persephone’s father not even shying away from seducing women by taking the shape of a bull or a snake.  
  
However, the bond Persephone and Thelxiepeia shared went deeper than mere sexual attraction, the two of them able to share whole conversations without uttering a single word. Sometimes they lay awake outside in the gardens all night and watched the stars while the others were asleep, Persephone telling Thelxiepeia everything she knew about the night sky while the two of them held hands and the Nymph’s head rested on her shoulder. They knew everything about one another, no secret the other wasn’t aware of, no insecurity that they tried to hide.  
  
“I get us something to drink, okay?” Thelxiepeia said and nudged her nose against Persephone’s before pressing a kiss onto the tip, the goddess giggling in return.  
  
“Don’t stay away for too long,” she pleaded, doll lips turning into a pout when Thelxiepeia stood up and brushed off little blades of grass from her sheer robe, golden skin shimmering through the white material.  
  
“I won’t. I promise.”  
  
Persephone looked after her for a moment before she went back to picking up flowers and continued to hum a soft melody. A sudden whoosh of air caused her to glance up after a while and there on the other side of the meadow a beam of light hit the ground, illuminating a single narcissus; the most beautiful flower Persephone had ever seen; the petals shining in the most vibrant yellow. Thinking that her mother would be delighted to see the flower Persephone stood up and told Aglaopheme that she would be right back, the Nymph only humming in acknowledgment, her arm shielding her eyes from the sun.  
  
Light-footed Persephone held onto her white toga as she made her way towards the flower on bare feet, the narcissus starting to shimmer golden as she stepped closer. Entranced by its beauty she leaned down to pluck it, the ground beneath her feet splitting in two as soon as her fingers touched the stalk. In a panic she backed away, eyes widening when Hades, the god of the underworld, appeared on his golden chariot, his immortal horses huffing and shaking their heads impatiently, their long black mane wafting in the air. Numbed with fear Persephone just watched as Hades got off, and she couldn’t move when he grabbed her and swung her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. Without saying anything Hades stepped back onto his chariot and took the black reins into one hand, Persephone starting to shout for Thelxiepeia, for Aglaopheme, for her mother and father with tears in her eyes, fists punching Hades as he ordered his horses to move. No one heard her screams and no one saw what was happening, Hades robbing Persephone with no one in sight. His horses galloped to where they had come from, the split in the earth closing as soon as Hades had vanished, the meadow bearing no signs of having been touched, not even the single Narcissus being left behind as evidence of Hades’ atrocity.  
  
When Thelxiepeia came back she carried a tray with wine, brows furrowing when she didn’t see Persephone where she had sat before.  
  
“Aglaopheme, where is Persephone?” she asked and looked around, her sister barely waving her hand.  
  
“She wanted to pick up some more flowers over there,” the Nymph muttered and gestured East, Thelxiepeia not seeing Persephone anywhere when she followed the direction of her sister’s hand.  
  
A little anxiously she placed the tray onto the ground before she cranked her neck and looked around on her tip-toes, hoping to see Persephone pop up behind one of the many trees. Unease spread in her gut when the goddess didn’t appear in her field of vision, her hands getting sweaty.  
  
“I can’t see her,” she uttered nervously, her visible discomfort causing Aglaopheme to sit up with a distraught huff that indicated that she was upset at her sister for interrupting her little nap. She looked around herself and said pragmatically “Don’t worry. Where is she supposed to go? She can’t be far away. Don’t be such a mother hen.”  
  
Not paying attention to Aglaopheme, Thelxiepeia cupped her hands around her mouth to call out for Persephone, her voice sounding high and loud, startling some birds that flew high up into the sky, making the leaves on the tree branches rustle.  
  
“Persephone, Persephone,” she called over and over again, every time with more urgency, but there was no reply, no sign of life, desperation starting to choke her up. First, she walked nervously around in circles like a dog in its kennel, but when the goddess didn’t answer, the Nymph ran into the field, almost stumbling over her own two feet as she yelled Persephone’s name. Even her serene sister seemed to get alarmed when there was no sign of Persephone after minutes of calling her and she got up and joined Thelxiepeia, the two sisters running around the wide meadow, looking for the goddess of spring.  
  
“She’s gone. How is that possible? It can’t be,” Aglaopheme exclaimed, stunned after they had searched for Persephone everywhere. Thelxiepeia sank helplessly down into the grass, the last straw of hope blown away, tears filling her eyes as fear overcame her that something bad might have happened to her beloved Persephone.  
  
“You were there with her. Why didn’t you pay more attention and looked after her.” Not being in the right state of mind the Nymph blamed her sister for the disappearance of Persephone, Aglaopheme defending herself by saying that the goddess wasn’t a child anymore and didn’t need constant supervision. Thelxiepeia needed a moment to pull herself together and get up again, hands combing through her head as she told her sister that they had to go and see Demeter.  
  
Persephone’s mother jumped up from her chaise longue in fury when the sisters kneeled in front of her with lowered heads to tell her about her daughter’s vanishing. The sisters startled when they heard the loud clanking of a vase that hit the marble floor and shattered into a thousand pieces.  
  
“What are you telling me? That my beloved Persephone is missing? How is that possible? You were supposed to look out for her!” Demeter yelled hysterically, voice intimidating and echoing from the high marble walls. She threw more vases to the ground, the sisters wincing every single time one hit the white floor before Thelxiepeia tried to speak up and explain the situation, her clarification falling onto deaf ears. Demeter didn’t want to hear her apologies, didn’t want to listen to the sisters.  
  
“You have to bring her back no matter how long it takes you and how far you have to go. You have to find her and bring her back to me. Turn every stone, crawl into every hole, search land and sea for her. Do you understand?”  
  
She squatted in front of them and took turns in looking at each of them with a stern expression, her usually soft features now appearing like they were made of stone. Nodding fiercely the Nymphs couldn’t hold the goddess’ gaze for long, lowering their eyes in humbleness every time they were spoken to.  
  
“As a punishment for your failure, I will turn you into Sirens. It will make it easier for you to search the sea and it gives me a guarantee that you will return to me. If you find my beloved Persephone and bring her back to me I shall give you back your beauty,” Demeter explained in a calmer voice now, sounding almost pragmatic. Aglaopheme gasped in shock and begged the goddess to reconsider her decision, but Thelxiepeia didn’t bat an eye, willing to do everything in her power to find Persephone again.  
  
Demeter didn’t give the sisters a chance to prepare themselves for the change and ignored Aglaopheme’s desperate pleading, showing her the cold shoulder. The snap of a finger was all it took for the transformation to begin. Pain rattled through Thelxiepeia’s body, the skin on her arms tearing apart, and quills pushing out of the bleeding, raw flesh. The Nymph was sure that there would have been a painless method to turn them into Sirens, but Demeter wanted to see them suffer and Thelxiepeia understood that and therefore endured the agony in silence while her sister screamed at the top of her lungs as her feet turned into claws, and every part beneath her breasts started to get covered by feathers. When the transformation had been executed Thelxiepeia looked down at herself, still unsure about how she was supposed to move on her claws, posture curved, the majority of her body covered in feathers. Walking felt painful, every step hurting like someone cut her with a knife, the feathers on her arms long and pointy, scrubbing at the little bit of skin Demeter had left her. Aglaopheme next to her was crying, loud and frantic as she mourned her beauty and acted like she had lost a loved one.  
  
“Now go! There is no time to waste. Fly and search for my Persephone,” Demeter demanded and gave the sisters tailwind, the two of them soon flying away from Mount Olympus to look for the goddess. They traveled for weeks along the Mediterranean Sea, the weather cold and wet as Demeter was grieving the loss of her daughter. She had punished humanity by sending them winter in summer, crops rotting and leading to famine, thousands of people dying because there was no food. The Sirens rarely rested and fed on worms and fish, the hope to find Persephone slowly vanishing with every passing day without a sign of her.  
  
In the end, it weren’t the Sirens who found Demeter’s daughter but Helios, the sun god, who could oversee everything from his horse-drawn chariot. Worried about the state of the world due to Demeter’s wrath he had told her what had happened to her daughter in hope that it would bring her peace, but Demeter sent a snowstorm down to earth when the name Hades rolled from Helios tongue.  
  
Enraged she traveled back to Mount Olympus and demanded from Zeus to talk to his brother Hades and command him to give Demeter her daughter back. Zeus, who rarely listened to anyone, consented to Demeter’s wish only because he feared that more people would die if Demeter prolonged winter.  
  
It was Hermes, the messenger of the gods, who delivered Zeus’ command, but Hades who was clever and cunning asked Persephone to eat a single pomegranate seed from his garden before she left his palace. Unbeknownst to Persephone consuming something from the Underworld led to a person not being able to reside on Earth anymore, so she naively ate the seed and swallowed it, only Hades’ laugh indicating that something was amiss.  
  
“Oh my love, by eating that seed Zeus loses all power over you. You are truly the queen of the Underworld now – wholeheartedly,” he quipped, exhilarated, and clapped his hands together.  
  
“What did you do?” Persephone asked, frightened, longing to return to Mount Olympus again.  
  
Amused, Hades got comfortable on this throne and propped up his chin in the palm of his hand, watching Persephone carefully.  
  
“I made sure that you have to stay with me. Once you have eaten something from the Underworld you become a part of it and it won’t be possible for you to ever fully leave again,” he explained, composed, Persephone sinking to her knees, all strength leaving her body.  
  
“Why are you doing this to me, Hades? I don’t love you. I never will. Please let me go,” she begged as she had so often ever since Hades had taken her away from her home and had robbed her of everything she loved.  
  
Hades merely sighed and sunk deeper into the cushion of his throne, one hand gesturing through the air as if he was conducting an orchestra.  
  
“Love, such a big word. Overrated if you ask me. I will be kind to you. What else can you wish for?” he asked but didn’t expect an answer as he got up from his throne and walked over to her. He towered over Persephone, tall and muscular, and clad in a black robe as he caressed her cheek, the goddess shuddering in disgust.  
  
When Hermes brought the news of Persephone eating a pomegranate seed in the Underworld, both Zeus and Demeter were at a loss, not knowing what to do. At last, they came up with a compromise that allowed Persephone to live one-third of the year on Mount Olympus while the other two-thirds had to be spent in the Underworld. Demeter demanded that the two Sirens served Hades in the Underworld so that they could keep an eye on Persephone, the god being happy about the addition to his army of monsters, a little magic turning them into loyal servants who collected souls for him.  
  
Submissively the sisters assisted Hades in his doings, hoping that keeping the god of the Underworld in high spirits would benefit Persephone. The first time Thelxiepeia and Persephone saw each other again the goddess was horrified, not fathoming that her mother could have been so cruel to the person she loved the most, her hands caressing the Siren’s face tenderly as she apologized over and over again for her mother’s cruelty.

“It’s okay, my love. It doesn’t matter, right? As long as we are together,” Thelxiepeia replied with a weak smile, not wanting the goddess to worry about her. To her, it didn’t matter if they were on Mount Olympus or in the Underworld as long as she could see Persephone and be in her presence. She needed the certainty that the goddess was okay even if it meant that she had to continue to live in a body that wasn’t hers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Present day – South Korea – Seoul**

** **

onghyun and Minho spent all of their Saturday evenings at the _Maison de l'arc-en-ciel_ without a fail. Ever since one of their shared friends had led them to the small but cute bar after their last class of the day during their second year of university they had come here to visit Jinki and Kibum as often as possible. Though Minho always claimed that it was for the cheap booze and the nice conversations he had with Jinki, Jonghyun knew that secretly he only wanted to annoy the hell out of Kibum who always rolled his eyes whenever Minho entered the bar with his arms outstretched, yelling “Kibum-ah, your favorite person is here” to announce his arrival. For whatever reason Kibum loved the dubious attention he received from Minho even though he would never admit it. They were like cat and dog or like the old guys from the Muppets Show, offering free entertainment for everyone around. It was funny to watch their constant bickering, to see how far Minho could go with imitating Kibum and bothering him before the other would snap and smack his head while grumbling profanities under his breath.  
  
This night was no different, Jonghyun and Minho sharing a table close to the bar and Minho yelling declarations of love at Kibum after emptying his second bottle of soju, the other only turning away embarrassedly and pretending like he wasn’t aware of Minho’s existence, Jonghyun amusedly chewing some peanuts while watching their banter.  
  
“It’s surprising to me that after all this time you two still haven’t fucked,” Jonghyun said jokingly and took a sip from his bottle of beer. In response, Minho merely snorted and made exaggerated kissy faces at Kibum to earn another eye roll as a reward.  
  
“Where would be the fun in that? I don’t want to be one of his many hookups. If he wants me, he should be the one begging for it,” Minho grinned and requested for another bottle of soju by yelling his order through the whole bar, Jonghyun’s attention already elsewhere when the entrance door of the bar swung open and a breeze of cold air made the hairs on his arms stand up. On Saturdays Taemin’s musical performance began at 10 PM and like every other day he appeared fifteen minutes early to set things up and get ready. He waved at Jinki and Kibum on his way to the small stage but didn’t even cast a glance at Jonghyun as he passed by their table. It frustrated him that after all those months Taemin had been working at the little bar Jonghyun was seemingly still at point zero on Taemin’s sympathy scale and wasn’t even worthy of a simple hello.  
  
“Your little idol wannabe is looking quite peachy today,” Minho commented with flushed cheeks and turned his head after Taemin overdramatically, Jonghyun having a hard time to not roll his eyes at him like Kibum always did. Minho was a terrible drunk, one that considered alcohol as an enemy he didn’t want to lose to, but lost to every single time, his already bubbly personality only enhanced through the infusion of hard liquor.  
  
To Jonghyun’s misfortune, Minho was right. Taemin looked peachy tonight, though he wasn’t quite sure whether he would have used a fruit to describe the singer. He wore his hair open but hid most of it beneath a black, oversized beanie, black-framed glasses sitting on his nose and a jeans jacket covering his shoulders. Underneath he wore a simple black T-shirt and black jeans, being faithful to his usual dark aesthetic as he carried his guitar case on his back. Jonghyun often wondered if Taemin preferred to wear black to appear less friendly. If that was the case his actions bore fruits because despite the fact that everyone was visibly swooned by the singer he rarely got approached by anyone. Maybe word had got around that Taemin was indeed like the Chinese wall – impenetrable as Kibum had called it.  
  
“You should invite him over for a beer when he’s done with his set tonight. I’ve never seen him talk to anyone except for Jinki and Kibum. Where does he even come from and what did he do before he started working at this bar? Do we know any of that?”  
  
No, they didn’t, Jonghyun thought as he watched Taemin from the corner of his eyes, something inside of him always wanting to talk to Taemin whenever he was near. He felt ridiculous for feeling so attracted to someone he had never really talked to and who had appeared so rude during the times they had spoken to each other.  
  
“You still want to know why he spoke Greek to you, right? You’ve annoyed me with this for the past four days. Today’s the day to get your answer to that. Maybe he had a lover from Greece or something in the past,” Minho babbled, apparently not really minding that he was basically talking to himself as Jonghyun’s focus was on the singer who currently worked on the right height of the microphone stand and looked extremely handsome with that serious and concentrated expression on his face.  
  
“How are my favorite regulars doing tonight? Are you enjoying yourself?” Jinki greeted them friendly and placed another bottle of soju in front of Minho who theatrically grabbed the other’s arm and pulled him down to give him a tight hug, mumbling “Jinki~, Jinki-yah, I haven’t seen you in so long” despite having talked to the other about football for almost fifteen minutes only an hour ago. Jinki took Minho’s act lightheartedly and smiled, awkwardly bending down and giving Minho a reassuring clap on the back.  
  
“Don’t give him any more alcohol after this. I still have to get him home somehow,” Jonghyun said pointedly towards Jinki who nodded understandingly and then carefully tried to free himself from Minho who only reluctantly let go of him again.  
  
“Jinki~,” Minho murmured again in a light tone, eyes glassy, and his grin almost childlike. “You are the best.”  
  
Jinki laughed at that and patted his head gently, telling Minho that he was the best, the two of them throwing finger hearts at each other as Jinki carefully moonwalked his way back to the bar so he could take care of other orders again.  
  
Ignoring his roommate was even easier for Jonghyun when Taemin began to strum his black Western guitar a few minutes later, his voice soon filling the room and Jonghyun’s heart. It felt like he was being enchanted every time Taemin started singing, his heart feeling light and warm as Taemin covered popular foreign as well as Korean songs. Full pink lips pressed closely against the microphone and eyes closed Taemin sung about love and heartbreak, about longing and desire, every syllable that left his lips only feeding into the yearning in Jonghyun’s gut.  
  
“He’s really good. He should perform on TV and not in some small bar,” Minho informed Jonghyun after Taemin had finished his fifth song of the night, both roommates applauding loudly, appreciative whistles echoing through the small bar as Taemin indicated a bow with his head. Jonghyun agreed with a nod and watched as Taemin took a sip from a bottle of water and then wiped some sweat from his forehead with a white towel. Taemin barely talked between songs, only uttering the usual ‘Hi, thank you and goodbye’ after he entered and before he left the stage. It fueled the image of the mysterious singer no one really knew anything about. Even Jinki and Kibum didn’t really know anything about him regardless of having hired him almost a year ago. He had auditioned at their bar like so many others had and after only one song the owners had been sold already and had offered him a job, no questions asked.  
  
“If you are not trying your luck tonight, I will,” Minho threatened jokingly and for that earned a punch to his upper arm which made him wince in pain. “Why did you hit me?”  
  
Jonghyun watched Minho pat his arm with narrowed eyes, telling him that he was stupid for saying something like that. Insecurity had been the reason for Jonghyun hitting his roommate because similar to Kibum, Minho usually got what he desired and given the option, chances were quite high that Taemin would choose to get friendly with Minho and not with him. Jonghyun wouldn’t even be able to blame him for it. Choosing Mr. athletic long legs with the face in the size of a coconut over Jonghyun whose body had stopped growing at age 15 was an easy option. Minho worked out regularly while Jonghyun’s workout routine consisted of carrying books around, muscles lanky and untrained because he preferred to study books at home instead of lifting weights at the gym.  
  
Though they had a mutual agreement that neither of them would dare to become too friendly with someone the other was interested in, who could blame Minho if he really had developed an interest in Taemin? After all, Taemin was gorgeous looking with his soft features and androgynous look and the voice of an angel.  
  
After Taemin was done with his set an hour later he went over to the bar and ordered a Jack and coke like he usually did, Minho almost violently pushing Jonghyun from his chair and motioning for him to walk over to Taemin with scary looking eyes.  
  
“Just fucking go,” he mouthed and pointed his head to the bar. Jonghyun almost looked like a lost child when he got up, knees wobbly, and his heart racing in his chest. He clung to his beer bottle like a castaway on a life preserver, thumb nervously scrapping at the label as he slowly made his way over to the counter, feeling like he was about to approach a lion in the wild.  
  
He cleared his throat when he came to a halt next to Taemin, the other leaning against the bar as he watched the other guests.  
  
“Yià sas! Ti kánete?” Jonghyun greeted, his voice barely coming out, and the words sounding strained and frightened.  
  
Whirling his head around, Taemin wordlessly eyed Jonghyun for a moment, the corner of lips curling up the tiniest bit. “Could be worse.”  
  
“So you really do understand Greek?” Fumbling with his beer bottle Jonghyun tried to lean against the bar the same way Taemin did, but his arms, sweaty from being so nervous, slipped over the smooth surface of the counter and made him feel like a complete idiot.  
  
“I should, considering I somewhat grew up there.”  
  
Taemin spoke in such a calm and mellow manner that it was hard to believe that he was joking, Jonghyun staring at him wide-eyed.  
  
“You did?” Jonghyun asked louder than he had intended to, Taemin snorting and only now turning his body towards Jonghyun as he sat down on a barstool. He nodded but didn’t say anything. Running one hand through his black hair, Jonghyun had to sort out his thoughts as he sank down on the barstool himself and stared at the floor, hoping that the dark linoleum would give him the answers he was hoping for. What kind of coincidence was it that the guy he had fancied for months now, happened to have grown up in the place he loved so much, and spoke the language he studied?  
  
“That’s wild. Wow. So – Are your parents diplomats or something? Expats? Do you have relatives there? Did you go to school there as well? A Greek one? An international one? Where exactly did you grow up? City? Countryside?” Jonghyun wanted to know, more and more questions bubbling up as he spoke. Perking up his eyebrows Taemin watched him silently and took a sip from his drink, silver rings shimmering on his thumb and ring finger.  
  
“Something like that. No. Yes, a lot. You could say that. A little village southwest of Thessaloniki. Mount Olympus is not far away from there,” was the manner in which Taemin answered with a raised glass, every answer so short and pointed that Jonghyun had no idea where to go from there. It seemed like the other wasn’t even interested in talking to him, probably saw him as a nuisance, the temporary boost of confidence Jonghyun had felt, currently on its way to jump out of an airplane without wearing a parachute.  
  
Because Jonghyun didn’t know what to say, he just sat there wordlessly, beer in his hand. He took a sip from it just to occupy himself with something and pretended that the conversation wasn’t as awkward as it was. Jonghyun usually didn’t have a problem with talking to people, but Taemin’s impassive attitude had taken the wind out of his sail that had been already at half-mast before he had even walked over to the bar. When Taemin next to him emptied his glass with a sigh and placed it loudly on the bar, Jonghyun looked at him in question.  
  
“I will be heading home. It’s getting late. See you!”  
  
He tapped the bar to wave Jinki and Kibum goodbye and then saluted halfheartedly in front of Jonghyun, three fingers against his temple, the gesture looking quite out of place. A little perplexed about the sudden farewell Jonghyun only whispered “Goodbye,” and stared blankly after Taemin who walked quickly over to the stage and grabbed his guitar case before he disappeared through the entrance door, leaving Jonghyun all dressed up and with nowhere to go.  
  
“Wow – that was the roughest turn down I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen many. Comes with the job,” Kibum commented, not able to suppress the tiniest hint of a smile that was supposed to let Jonghyun know – I told you so.  
  
“He just left in the middle of a conversation,” Jonghyun was still in a state of disbelief and pointed at the barstool Taemin had sat on just a minute ago.  
  
“Well, I wouldn’t call what you had a real conversation, honey. It looked more like a competition of who can stay silent for longer.”  
  
Shoulders slouching, Jonghyun turned towards the bar with a loud whine, hating the world, hating Taemin, hating himself. “How can he be so perfect and yet such an asshole?”  
  
“Pretty people are usually assholes, just look at me,” Kibum placed one hand on his chest and then threw his head back, laughing noisily at his own joke. “But on a serious note, Taemin is like – “  
  
“The Chinese wall. I got it and noted it down,” Jonghyun interrupted, sounding almost annoyed and looked up when he felt someone touch him. It turned out to be Minho who hugged him from behind and placed his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder to tell him in his drunk state that he was a cute guy, that he loved him, and that Taemin didn’t know what he was missing out on. Though Jonghyun appreciated the sentiment because it was a known fact that drunks and kids never lied, he felt like he couldn’t just give up on Taemin. He wanted to be like the Tatars or the Mongols and fight his way through the walls Taemin had set up around him to protect him from something Jonghyun wasn’t quite sure of. Maybe if he tried hard enough the walls would break down eventually.  
  
“Thanks, bud,” he told Minho with a forced smile and patted his hands that were interlaced and rested comfortably on his stomach, spreading warmth.  
  
“Maybe you will have more success if you meet him outside of the Maison,” Kibum suggested as he dried a glass with a towel.  
  
Jonghyun frowned. “How on earth should I do that? He’s not even talking to me here, why should he talk to me elsewhere?”  
  
“I mean this is work for him here. Maybe he’s more relaxed if he’s out of his work environment.”  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, Kibum turned to the cabinets behind him and carefully placed the glass inside, doing his job while giving out life advice.  
  
“He would never agree to meet up with me, so that suggestion is pointless.” Jonghyun emptied the rest of his beer with one gulp, feeling frustrated and unloved.  
  
Pursing his lip, Kibum leaned over the bar and then said “But I’m sure he would come around if his boss invited him to a small gathering with friends, right? Some food, some music, some alcohol. Sounds good, no?”  
  
Jonghyun paused for a moment, pondered over Kibum’s idea before he tilted his head and said to his own surprise “It actually does!”

  
  
~*~

  
  
Jonghyun felt inappropriately dressed though he had changed his outfit for at least five times in Minho’s room while the other had lounged on his bed with a bag of chips in his hands, giving him direct feedback by either pulling grimaces or showing him a thumbs up. He never had been the fashionable type, his wardrobe consisting mostly of stuff one could buy at the BASICS section in every clothing store. His sense in fashion was just like he was – very basic. Tighter black jeans that made him feel uncomfortable in the crotch area and a simple oversized lumberjack shirt in black and red had to be sufficient for a small party at Kibum’s. It was the first time in months that his black hair had seen any kind of styling product and he constantly had to remind himself to not touch it as his fingers came back greasy and sticky every time he forgot.  
  
Kibum opened the door to his apartment with a bottle of wine in his hand, still wearing a baby blue apron as he let Minho and him in and gestured for them to sit down in the living room. Kibum’s apartment was bigger than the one Jonghyun shared with Minho, the interior light with some colorful accents in the furniture. Some abstract paintings hung up on the wall and Jonghyun was sure that they showed dogs if one just stared long enough at them.  
  
Jinki and a few other friends of Kibum were already there, lounging on a bright red couch and a few chairs Kibum had taken from the kitchen, Jonghyun’s eyes wandering through the room to find Taemin. Kibum had told him that Taemin had promised to show up, but he wasn’t there yet and a little disappointed he greeted the already present guests and settled down on the armrest of the couch next to Jinki because he could observe the door furtively from there.  
  
Kibum fed them a wide range of antipasti; Bruschetta, Suppli, Caprese, Vitello tonnato and other delicacy piling up on the table with every trip the host of the night made to the kitchen. Having an exquisite taste Kibum loved foreign cuisine, studied internet blogs to look out for new trends, and loved traveling around to discover new flavors. Though Jonghyun preferred Korean food over anything else, he could imagine worse things in life than having grilled bread with garlic and some white wine.  
  
At least another ten guests showed up as the evening continued, the room reaching its maximum capacity at some point and forcing people to emigrate to the other rooms, Jonghyun drowning his sorrows in wine as Taemin still hadn’t shown up by 10 PM. He had looked forward to meeting the other again, had even written a note on his cell phones with a list of topics they could have talked about. But instead of having a most likely awkward conversation with Taemin he was jammed in between Minho and Jinki on a couch, the two of them manspreading while he had his legs closely squished together, balancing a small bowl with olives in his lap and a glass of wine.  
  
“It seems like he’s not coming anymore, huh?” Jinki nudged him and checked his wristwatch, a small sympathetic pout on his lips. “It’s past 10 PM already. I swear he has promised Kibum to stop by. I was there, I heard it.”  
  
Taking another sip of wine Jonghyun shrugged as best as he could in his position. “To be honest, I didn’t expect him to show up. Let’s be real. He doesn’t seem like a people person.”  
  
“Who knows? Maybe he’s a singer by night and a kindergarten teacher by day,” Jinki conjectured, the thought making Jonghyun laugh. He could imagine Taemin doing a lot of things, but taking care of small children wasn’t really at the top of that list.  
  
“He looks like a nude model to me,” Minho threw in and reached forward to grab the last piece of Bruschetta on the table, eating it in one single bite. “He seems like the type, doesn’t he? Going around universities to pose for some art majors? Sounds like something he would be doing. It also doesn’t require him to speak,” he added with a full mouth, crumbs of bread falling from his lips.  
  
Though this scenario seemed just as unlikely, Jonghyun had to admit that he found the suggestion quite entertaining, thoughts wandering to a classroom with Taemin lying around naked at the front.  
  
“I can’t believe that you still don’t know anything about him although he has been working for you for over half a year now.”  
  
Jonghyun looked at Jinki accusatorily, his seatmate helplessly raising his hands in defense.  
  
“He’s just not very communicative, but that’s okay because he’s doing his job. He’s always on time, has not missed one single day of work yet, and he brings in more money. I can’t ask for more! He can be nude modeling all he wants in his free time.”  
  
Sighing in frustration Jonghyun sank back against the couch and leaned his head against the backrest, downing his glass of wine in one last gulp. He closed his eyes then and listened to the jumble of different voices and the soft jazz music that was playing. There were laughter and the occasional clinking of glasses, the background noise almost making him doze off. Not knowing how long he had sat on the couch with his eyes closed, he almost jumped out of his seat when Minho shook his shoulder to get his attention.  
  
“Target has just arrived, only glanced into the room before disappearing again, but he must be somewhere near,” Minho whispered into his direction as if he was a soldier on a mission, Jonghyun blinking his eyes repeatedly before he finally understood what his roommate was talking about.  
  
“Are you sure?” he asked and sat up straight, eyes wandering over to the doorframe.  
  
“Unless he has a twin we don’t know of, this was definitely him. So now go, and stop being a party pooper,” Minho demanded and gave Jonghyun a little push who only managed to get up from the couch with difficulty, his shoulders feeling sore from being squished together for so long. When he looked at Jinki and Minho for moral support they only shooed him away, telling him to just be himself and not act like a pubescent teenager who was about to confess to their first crush.  
  
Carrying his empty wine glass around, Jonghyun looked around Kibum’s apartment, found people laughing in the corridor and Kibum with a few others in the kitchen, hovering over the stove where he seemed to show them how to cook something Jonghyun had never seen before. When Kibum noticed him standing in the door frame, he didn’t say anything and just pointed his head towards the other side of the room. When Jonghyun turned his head he could see Taemin through the window leading to Kibum’s tiny balcony, the singer sitting on a small bathroom stool with a plate in his hands and a drying rack full of clothes hanging right next to him.  
  
It took Jonghyun a lot of effort to force himself to march over to that balcony and join Taemin on it, and he grabbed an opened bottle of red wine on his way to refill his glass in case he needed to get drunk quickly. When he finally pushed the balcony door open, a chill breeze came towards him and made him shiver, Taemin looking up as soon as Jonghyun took a step outside.  
  
“Hey, is it okay if I join you here?” he asked carefully.  
  
“Well, it’s not my balcony, so it’s not up to me to decide who can and who cannot come onto it,” Taemin answered cryptically, lowering his gaze again as he twirled some pasta onto a fork. Jonghyun interpreted that response as a ‘yes’ and closed the sliding door behind himself, not wanting the nightly March air to blow into the apartment. It was way too cold to stand outside at this time of the night, and the sun had gone down a few hours ago already, the balcony only lit by some fairy lights Kibum had wrapped around the railing. The view wasn’t pretty as they looked directly at the exterior façade of another building, Jonghyun able to watch into the windows of Kibum’s neighbors.  
  
“What brought you out?”  
  
Jonghyun wanted to say ‚You‘, but he swallowed that down and answered “I just needed some fresh air,” instead. He rested his elbows on top of the railing and watched Taemin eat from the side, a few deep scratches on his left hand catching his attention.  
  
“Did you get into a fight?”  
  
When Taemin looked at him a little confused, Jonghyun pointed at his hand.  
  
“Ah, no. That was my cat. She can be a little bitch sometimes,” he commented and Jonghyun was surprised that for once Taemin had given him a proper answer to one of his questions without making him feel like a complete and utter idiot. Encouraged by the little information he had just received, he tried to find something else to ask in the hope he and Taemin could actually have a conversation for once.  
  
“A cat? That’s cool. What’s her name and breed?”  
  
He had never really been interested in cats as he always had been more of a dog person, but Taemin looked like he would get along with them. Now that he knew that the other had a cat, he could also see why. There were some striking similarities. Just like Taemin, cats had a mind of their own, not caring about pleasing anyone, having no problem with showing someone the cold shoulder if they disliked them.  
  
“It’s Aglaopheme and she’s an orange Norwegian forest cat,” Taemin explained and took another bite from the pasta, Jonghyun still not able to believe that Taemin could speak like a normal person. Did this mean that the way to his heart were cats?  
  
“The one with a lambent voice. According to the scholar Eustathius, it was one of the Sirens’ names, right? It’s quite unique but very pretty,” Jonghyun complimented, but the comment only made Taemin laugh sardonically.  
  
“Gosh, you really are a nerd,” he replied, but it didn’t sound mean or derogatory. Jonghyun shrugged, unfazed, not considering the word ‘nerd’ as an affront. He had been called a nerd all his life, so it had become like second nature, something he carried around with pride.  
  
“I always loved Greek mythology, that’s all.”  
  
Taemin hummed in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything further, their conversation coming to nothing after that as Taemin stared blankly into the night and ate his pasta while Jonghyun sipped his wine, watching an elderly man sitting on the floor in his apartment, playing a game of mahjong. After he had finished his food, Taemin placed the plate noisily on the wooden planks and stretched out his legs, a long sigh falling from his lips.  
  
Jonghyun looked at him. “Long day?”  
  
“I guess you could say that.”  
  
“Would it make you feel better if we talked some more about your cat?” Jonghyun meant it to sound funny and was relieved when Taemin actually started smiling. It was a rare sight, something he had almost never seen him doing which was a pity because he looked even prettier with a smile on his face.  
  
“Smiling suits you, you should do it more often,” Jonghyun suggested, chuckling when Taemin actually turned towards him and showed him a toothy, almost childlike looking grin.  
  
“There aren’t a lot of reasons to smile though?” Taemin said then and turned serious again, pulling the black beanie on his head a little further down his forehead. No matter how pretty Taemin’s voice sounded even if he just spoke, there was always a tint of melancholy mixed into it, a certain sadness that seemed like it was a part of him.  
  
“I think there are. It’s all just a matter of perspective. If we wear blinders and walk around thinking that everything is bad, we won’t be able to see the good things anymore.”  
  
Jonghyun thought that he might have said something wrong when Taemin suddenly got up, but the other only wanted to lean against the railing next to him, pointer finger playing with the ring on his thumb.  
  
“An optimist?” he wondered, but Jonghyun shook his head, smiling.  
  
“I’m more of a realist.”  
  
“That’s good,” Taemin nodded and straightened up. He closed his hands around the railing and pressed against it, stretching his arms. “Try to keep that spirit. It makes you less vulnerable.”  
  
“Talking from experience?”  
  
Taemin chuckled. “I lost my spirit a long time ago.”  
  
Licking his lips, Jonghyun tried to think about what to say next, not wanting to appear as intruding or asking something too personal. It was the first time in the few months since he had seen Taemin for the first time that a conversation with him had lasted longer than five sentences, and he didn’t want to let it end just yet by making a mistake and say something inappropriate.  
  
“You know how it says ‘the burnt child dreads the fire’? If we never try something again after a bad experience, we will always be afraid of it, and will never know that there can be something good to the fire as well, that it can spend warmth, that it’s able to create something beautiful,” Jonghyun uttered eventually, Taemin tilting his head cutely in return.  
  
“You know, you are quite wise for your age, Jonghyun,” he said, now Jonghyun being the one who smiled at him.  
  
“That makes it sound like you are some old grandpa. I highly doubt that you are older than me.” He gave Taemin a soft nudge with his shoulder, the other laughing, but not saying anything in response.  
  
They stood there for a while, and for once it didn’t feel awkward to Jonghyun to just be in Taemin’s presence without saying anything. The other seemed to have lowered his guard down a little and it helped Jonghyun to relax as well, although he wasn’t certain whether the glasses of wine hadn’t played a role in it as well. Not quite knowing what overcame him he pulled his cell phone out after some time and unlocked it with his finger, Sandro Botticelli’s painting of the birth of Venus popping up on his home screen.  
  
“Um –,” he began and held his phone into Taemin’s direction. “Would you mind giving me your number?”  
  
His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest when Taemin first looked at the phone and then at him, not making a move to take it.  
  
Instead, he asked, “What for?”  
  
“I don’t know, so I can text you and ask you out for a coffee sometime – maybe?” Jonghyun tried uncertainly and felt how his knees started to shake.  
  
“I don’t drink coffee,” Taemin replied, Jonghyun already wanting to put his phone away in defeat when the other suddenly moved and took it.  
  
“Why do you want to grab a cup of coffee with me anyway?” he asked and pressed on Jonghyun’s contacts to create a new one.  
  
Jonghyun gnawed on his lips, thinking about what he could say, but in the end, decided to stick to the truth – at least partially. “’ Cause I think you are a cool guy.”  
  
That statement earned him another chuckle and Taemin glanced up from typing in his number, saying “But you don’t even know me.”  
  
“I know that you’ve got a cat, grew up in Greece, and sing at a bar,” Jonghyun pointed out matter-of-factly and then added, “Despite that – that’s why people usually go out to grab a cup of coffee – to get to know each other.”  
  
“You got me there, I guess,” Taemin said and clicked the ‘Save’ button before handing the phone back, Jonghyun feeling like he had just received a trophy for achieving the impossible, a smile spreading on his lips as he uttered a short and simple “Thanks.”


	5. Chapter 5

  


**13th century B.C. – Mediterranean Sea**

** **

gesilaus stood on the bow of his ship with his hands on the railing, looking far into the ocean lying ahead of him. Poseidon had been kind to them, allowing their ship to cross the Mediterranean Sea without turmoil. Carrying valuable spices and jewels Agesilaus hoped for the ship to soon reach the harbor of Troy as news had been going around for a while, speaking of the mysterious disappearance of merchant ships on their route.  
  
Their ship glided smoothly over the sea as the wind was in their favor, shortening the length of their trip approximately by a day. Agesilaus was about to turn around and go back to the captain when he saw a little island on the horizon, the wind carrying the loveliest tunes he had ever heard towards them.  
  
Folding his hands in front of his mouth like a goblet he yelled “Captain, there is a small island ahead of us,” and watched as Miltiades, a tall man with broad shoulders and a stern face, made his way over to the bow and halted next to him.  
  
“This can’t be. I’ve have been traveling these waters for years. By Zeus! There is no island. You are a fool,” he shouted and smacked Agesilaus with a grim expression. In response the young sailor merely pointed at the little island that towered out of the water and got closer and closer by the minute with a lowered head, only raising his eyes again when he heard his captain gasp loudly next to him.  
  
“By Zeus, this can’t be! An undiscovered island in the middle of the sea,” Miltiades muttered, perplexed, his big hand grabbing Agesilaus shoulder and squeezing it. Now the lovely voices also penetrated the other crew members’ ears and one by one they joined the two men in front of the ship who dropped everything to look out at the ocean.  
  
“Look, there are two women on that island,” one shouted and the men immediately huddled closer together, trying to take a peek, trying to be in the first row.  
  
“Come here,” they sang, “renowned Miltiades, honor to the Achaean name, and listen to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song—and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon you and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world.”  
  
Miltiades rubbed his eyes in disbelief and craned his neck, not believing what he saw in front of his eyes. On the island he saw the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes upon, wearing the dresses they were born in, the sun kissing the curves of their naked bodies as they sat on a meadow, one of them playing a golden shimmering harp.  
  
“By Zeus, what do my eyes see, those beautiful creatures. Are my eyes betraying me? Am I having a fever dream?” the captain crooned, fingernails painfully digging into Agesilaus shoulders, his mind in a state of mayhem induced by the sight of the island’s residents.  
  
Agesilaus shook his head frantically, enchanted by the women’s voices. “No captain, they are real. I’ve never seen someone this beautiful before, Captain.”  
  
“Come here, you strong men. Let us share our knowledge with you and introduce you to the pleasures of our beautiful island,” the lovely voices sang in unison and the sailors hectically stormed back to their posts and grabbed their oars to row to the shore, none of them noticing the sudden lack of wind. The sea was deadly calm, not a breath of wind touching the ship’s sails, not a single ripple upon the water. In their frenzy the sailors beat the water into foam, small little clouds rising around their oars, their hearts beating quickly, the minds hazy, tricked by the heavenly voices.  
  
Thirty men captivated by two voices, enchanted by two women who had appeared out of nowhere, promising them knowledge and pleasure. Agesilaus was the first to notice that something was amiss, that they weren’t heading towards an exotic island with beautiful women on it. He blinked his eyes, but what he saw weren’t flowers and palm trees anymore but spiky rocks and bones, the two beautiful women turning into two monstrousness beasts that were half-bird and half-human, laughing loudly and maliciously at them.  
  
“We have to turn back,” he screamed in horror, but it was too late. The sailors had fallen right into the Sirens’ trap who served the house of Hades. Agesilaus fell down in fear and froze when he watched the two Sirens rise into the air to encircle the ship, the sailors around him finally realizing what was happening to them.  
  
“We are two servants of the house of Hades,” the Sirens sang; their voices now tinny and terrifying. “Once two Nymphs living on Mount Olympus we now collect the souls of unfaithful men whose flesh is weak and rotten.”  
  
A young boy who had only turned twelve the previous day was the first they attacked, slicing him open like a pig without mercy or remorse. His screams were frightening but quickly turned into burbles as blood oozed from his throat and soaked his clothes, the boy collapsing onto the timbers without a chance of survival. The Sirens almost worked strategically, cornering one sailor to kill him before looking for the next. There was no ounce of compassion in their amber-colored eyes as they clawed at the men’s flesh, tearing their clothes and skin apart, feeding on their intestines.  
  
When it was Agesilaus turn he helplessly curled into a ball, hoping to give the Sirens’ less surface to attack, but it was a forlorn attempt, his body coiling when one of the Siren’s buried their claws into his back, a burning sensation ripping him apart.  
  
Miltiades, the captain, was the last person alive on the ship, and he huddled in a corner, his body trembling as he was surrounded by death, his boots drenched in the blood of his crew, splashes of it covering his cheeks.  
  
“Come here,” the Sirens sang as they flew around his head, “cursed Miltiades, dishonor to the Achaean name, and listen to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song—and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon you and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world.”  
  
Miltiades screamed when the Sirens attacked him, and he fell onto his side without a fight, blood rushing from his belly, two dead eyes soon staring back at the Sirens.


	6. Chapter 6

**Present day – South Korea - Seoul**

** **

aemin started from his sleep, drenched in sweat, heart beating wildly in his chest. He stared into the darkness of his bedroom, still vividly remembering the dead eyes of the sailor in front of him. Body shaking like leaves in autumn, he turned to the side and switched the small lamp on his nightstand on, Aglaopheme his cat who had been lying between his spread legs, tiredly looking up, and blinking her eyes at the sudden brightness.  
  
He leaned forward to pick her up and place her onto his chest, Aglaopheme meowing at him as she stretched, face close to his, her amber-colored eyes focusing on him. Taemin needed the comfort she brought and petted her soft, long fur as he tried to replace the images that haunted him almost every night, with her small, furry face. For the longest time Taemin had hoped that the nightmares would eventually stop, that the uneasiness and the guilt that weighed him down would eventually fade, but after thousands of years the wounds still felt raw and fresh, gnawing at him, his memories reminding him of all the deaths he had caused, the pain he had inflicted. Every day he cursed Hades for letting him live a life that he couldn’t end, letting him suffer in a body that wasn’t his. The irony of him being turned into what Sirens hated the most – men.  
  
He winced when Aglaopheme stretched one of her paws with a soft purr and her claws cut into his naked chest, Taemin cursing under his breath as the scratches started burning. Carefully pushing her paws out of the way, he pulled his blanket further up his nose to prevent further injuries, the cat not fancying the idea of being moved aside and getting up immediately, showing Taemin her butt before she jumped from the bed with a trilling sound.  
  
He had lost count of all the cats he had owned ever since the Middle Ages when the church had begun to hunt them down because they had considered them as the spawn of the devil and the helpers of witches. To him it had been unintelligible to see believers fear an animal as harmless as a cat, so he had spent the majority of his time back then rescuing those four-legged friends from certain death and had named them all after his sister – who he hadn’t been able to save.  
  
The spreading of religion throughout the world had been fascinating to observe from an outsider’s perspective; the second war of Keppel, the Crusades, the Lebanese civil war, wars in Sudan and Nigeria to just name a few. Throughout what Taemin considered modern history humankind had fought for gods whose existence no one could prove, their beliefs manifested in old writings whose origins were unknown.  
  
Lethargically he got up from the bed to grab some water from the kitchen and shuffled through his spacious apartment until he stood in front of the fridge. After he had grabbed a bottle of water he walked over to the window and looked outside as he gulped half of it down, the view beautiful even at this late hour. Seoul looked beautiful from the 15th floor, streets almost completely silent as the city was asleep. He leaned his forehead against the glass and closed his eyes, a face he didn’t want to think about, appearing.  
  
“Nerdy university boy,” he mumbled to himself with a sigh, not quite understanding what had triggered the appearance of his face in the middle of the night. Taemin opened his eyes when he felt something soft sweep across his leg, Aglaopheme walking eights around him, meowing for his attention. He put the water bottle aside to pick her up, and pressed a kiss onto her head, caressing her beneath the chin with a smile on his face as the cat’s neck got longer and longer.  
  
“Who on earth would still study ancient Greece, hm? The gods have left a long time ago,” he spoke softly, absorbed in his thoughts as he walked back to bed with his cat on his arms, humming softly. When he entered his bedroom again, he saw the blue light of his phone steadily flashing up, indicating a message. With a slight frown, he carefully placed Aglaopheme on the mattress before he took his phone from the nightstand, and checked the screen.  
  
_+unknown number: this might be a little weird, but if you are still awake you should look outside. the moon is very pretty tonight. _  
  
Not many people owned Taemin’s phone number and some part inside of him regretted that in a moment of weakness he had given it out to Jonghyun after having tried to avoid the other as best as possible for months now. It had been three days since the small party at Kibum’s, but this was the first message he had received since then. So apparently Jonghyun wasn’t just a lover of Greek classics but also a selenophile who spent his nights looking at the moon instead of sleeping in his bed. To Taemin, it felt odd that the first message Jonghyun would send him was about something so odd, but then again everything about that man seemed odd, from his sense in fashion to his love for Greece.  
  
He stepped closer to his bedroom window anyway, and glanced up into the sky, the night clear and the moon full and bright. Taemin had used to love watching the moon and the stars at night while holding hands with Persephone, a streak of sadness overtaking him. Back then light pollution had been non-existent and they had been able to see the Milky Way, but now it was hard to even see the brightest star Sirius on the firmament sometimes. With a sigh he turned away from the window and sat down on the bed, holding his phone in both hands while staring down at Jonghyun’s message.  
  
There was something about Jonghyun he couldn’t quite put his finger on, a certain attraction he had tried to ignore for a while now. Nonetheless, Jonghyun had been so awkwardly persistent in his advances that he had been hard to avoid completely. No matter how uncommunicative Taemin had tried to be, the other had always tried to talk to him again, his determination admirable.  
  
He knew that Jonghyun was only attracted to him because of his voice since he had experienced this phenomenon plenty of times over the past centuries. It was another ‘gift’ Hades had left him with, another way of torturing him. It was the Siren’s voice people still heard when he opened his mouth, the treacherous tone in it that enchanted people and gave Taemin a hard time because he couldn’t reciprocate their feelings, his past making it impossible.  
  
Naturally, there had been a few occasions in his millennial existence in which his flesh had been too weak to withstand carnal desires, but those times had always resulted in him suffering afterward. Once he had suffered from hallucinations for months, imagining that hundreds of dead sailors collectively were trying to kill him in the streets of Paris after he had given cunnilingus to the leading actress who had played Persephone in a play in honor of Louis XIV of France. Seized by remorse he had fled the country and had never stepped a foot onto French territory again, too afraid that the ghosts of his past would come back again to haunt him.  
  
Taemin was tempted to send a text back and stared at his cell phone for minutes, only to end up sending no reply and putting his phone back on the nightstand, turning off the light so he didn’t have to see his phone anymore.

  
  
~*~

  
  
Jonghyun had sent another few text messages in the span of the next few days that all had stayed unanswered until Taemin finally had had mercy on him and had agreed to meet up at a café. Not able to sort out his feelings, Taemin was wary to meet up with Jonghyun. He had never felt attracted to a man before and still tried to figure out what about Jonghyun was so different that he was able to see past that and didn't matter to him. The other was already there when he walked into the café, a little bell on the turquoise-colored door announcing his entrance. The café was cozy; filled with plants and differently colored tables, soft piano music playing in the background.  
  
“Yià sas,” Taemin greeted in a fashion he knew Jonghyun would appreciate and sat down at the table, noticing how the other’s eyes lit up at the sound of his voice. Jonghyun wore a simple black sweatshirt and blue jeans, pointer finger pushing up the glasses sitting on his nose as he said: “Hey, I’m glad you could make it.”  
  
“Because you said you’d invite me.”  
  
He was just teasing, but when he saw how the expression on Jonghyun’s face changed, he added quickly “I’m just joking.”  
  
Taemin didn’t want Jonghyun to feel bad, though he usually didn’t care much about the feelings of other people. After Hades had banished him from the world of gods he had woken up naked and lost on the island of Crete, not knowing what had happened to him, not knowing where he was, not knowing whose body he was in. In the beginning he had been depended on the help of other people, but soon he had realized that humans were cruel and selfish, a fisher who had taken him in and had given him shelter selling him to a rich merchant who had taken an interest in him after he had seen him at the fisher’s house. He had taken Taemin with him against his will, had used and abused him until he had become bored of him after two years, selling him to another master who let him fight for him on the battlefield with thousands of others. Seeing domineering men fight for power, for land and territory by using mere commoners seemed so pointless to him, and with every innocent person, he saw being killed during those endless battles his trust in humanity shrunk bit by bit until it was completely gone.  
  
“Do you want anything to eat? Their cakes are nice.”  
  
Jonghyun smiled at him kindly and let him come back to the present as he pushed the menu towards him, one page of thick black paper which had the dishes and drinks handwritten on it with a marker.  
  
“I can recommend the strawberry cheesecake. It’s the best,” the other continued as Taemin took a closer look at the menu, eyes quickly scanning his options. He went with Jonghyun’s suggestion and soon they found themselves with pieces of strawberry cheesecake in front of them, Jonghyun drinking a black coffee along with it while Taemin had a glass of self-made elderberry lemon iced tea with mint.  
  
“How are your studies coming along? Discovered something exciting lately?” Taemin asked to contribute something to their conversation as he cut some piece of cake with a fork and put it into his mouth, the cream cheese deliciously melting on his tongue.  
  
Jonghyun eyed him skeptically. “As if you cared about that.”  
  
“Me endiaférei!” Taemin tried to be convincing, placing a hand on his chest.  
  
Jonghyun laughed as he replied “Den to pistévo!” his accent somewhat cute. Taemin hadn’t heard Greek in a while, the memories he had made there too excruciating and painful. Everything he had loved, he had lost there, and his dignity, as well as his free will, had been taken away from him. It wasn’t a place he liked to look back on.  
  
“I’m currently researching the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad for my thesis,” Jonghyun finally said and took a sip from his coffee, the porcelain cup chinking as he put it back onto the saucer. Good old Achilles. To humans, he was just another mythological figure, but Taemin knew that he had existed, his name and his deeds known even by the Olympians.  
  
“What is there to research? They are just mythological figures,” Taemin shrugged like a normal human being would do, knowing all too well that this was one of the last things a student of ancient Greek classics probably wanted to hear. It was adorable to see how a single vein popped up on Jonghyun’s neck as he suppressed the urge to lecture him about the topic and tried to remain calm, Taemin loving to act ignorant.  
  
“Mythological yes or no, that’s not important. What’s important is what the characters stood for, analyzing them as a reflection of ancient Greek society,” he explained factually and shoved a piece of cake into his mouth. Taemin couldn’t help but think that Persephone and Aglaopheme would have liked Jonghyun. Persephone would have most likely asked him to read her books and tell her about his daily life while Aglaopheme would have tried to seduce him. It was a nice thought to have although thinking about the people he had loved the most, always made him contemplate the life he led without them. After all the time that had passed he still missed Persephone; missed hearing her laughter and seeing her smile, missed kissing and touching her. Sometimes he just missed talking to her and hear her opinions on things.  
  
“You seem deep in thought.”  
  
When Taemin looked up, Jonghyun was eyeing him worriedly, so he just waved his hand and shook his head, telling the other that it was nothing.  
  
“Tell me more about your research. What exactly are you trying to find out?” he asked to distract himself, the question being enough for Jonghyun to go all out, telling him about the original material in the Iliad and what later scholars had done with the given information. He talked about Aeschylus and Plato and the Greek custom of pederasty, about William Shakespeare and his play Troilus and Cressida in which the two were described as lovers. He went on and on and Taemin only watched him in amusement, having not seen anyone talk so passionately about something in a while. It was quite refreshing to see someone so young, devoting themselves to something so old, a rarity in a generation that grew up always wanting the newest technology on the market and who wasn’t interested in books and stories anymore because they were too busy living their lives on social media, feeding on clicks and likes.  
  
“I’m sorry for talking so much,” Jonghyun said after a while and paused as he lowered his head a little sheepishly.  
  
“It’s okay. Really! Sounds like a cool topic for your Master’s thesis,” Taemin encouraged, and gulped down the rest of his ice tea. He returned the smile Jonghyun sent his way, wondering for a second what it would feel like to touch his face.

  
  
~*~

After their first meet up at a café, Taemin had become less reluctant to meet up with Jonghyun again, almost shocked when he realized that he enjoyed the other’s company. Jonghyun was quirky but very smart and knew how to articulate himself, a gift Taemin valued immensely. Having wandered the earth for so long, Taemin had met all types of people; the imposters and the narcissists, the greedy and the materialistic ones, the opportunists and the capitalists, humankind rotten to its core and lost in Taemin’s eyes. But Jonghyun seemed to not belong to either of those groups and lived his life without trying to accomplish the impossible. He just wanted to finish his studies, work at university as a research assistant, and get a dog - something tangible and down-to-earth.

The two of them began to hang out together regularly after their initial first meet up, visiting museums and strolling through parks, testing out new cafés and frequenting music stores, Taemin developing a certain fondness for Jonghyun over time. He possessed a kindness that Taemin liked, and a level of wisdom and maturity that was far beyond his age. For the first time in centuries Taemin had started to feel content in the presence of another being, Jonghyun not triggering the hatred he felt towards the world and humankind.

Sometimes Taemin lay awake at night with Aglaopheme curled up next to him and was scared of his evolving feelings, feeling guilty towards Persephone and not deserving of kindness due to all the pain he had caused. Oftentimes he caught himself smiling whenever Jonghyun sent him a message, the things he had considered being so trivial and odd about Jonghyun now being the ones he treasured most about him. Talking to Persephone every night before going to sleep he mentioned him often, telling her that she didn’t need to worry, that Jonghyun and he were just friends that she was the only one he would ever love. Taemin wasn’t sure whether he mentioned him because he wanted to cleanse his consciousness or because he wanted to share even the tiniest pieces of his life with Persphone.  
  
On one his off days Jonghyun had invited him to the library of classical philology to show him some valuable old books from the 16th and 17th century that his department owned and displayed in glass boxes, and they had spent almost an hour in a stuffy basement to walk along dozens of shelves as Jonghyun gave him a tour of the library, telling him about all the books he had already read there and the ones he still desperately wanted to read. In the evening Jonghyun invited him over to eat dinner together at his place for the very first time, Taemin first hesitant but then agreeing to come to the apartment he shared with his roommate Minho to order some take-away.  
  
Minho sat on the couch in the living room with a laptop in his lap when they entered, eyes widening when he noticed Taemin stepping into the apartment right after Jonghyun.  
  
“Hey,” Taemin greeted him and raised his hand, Minho wordlessly blinking before he looked over at Jonghyun and then back at him.  
  
“Hey, what are you doing here?” he said eventually, visibly confused as he straightened up. To Taemin, it was quite clear that the two roommates had probably spoken about him quite often in the past and Minho was most likely freaking out on the inside, wanting to high five Jonghyun for finally bringing Taemin home.  
  
Taemin gave a little shrug as he looked around, their living room small and monotonous. None of the furniture inside seemed to fit together and he wondered whether they were used pieces from their parents’ homes.  
  
“Jonghyun invited me over to eat some dinner together,” he clarified while Jonghyun seemed nervous, placing his shoulder bag on the floor next to the table and then immediately pulling out his cellphone from his pocket.  
  
“I wanted to order at our usual place. Do you want something as well?” he asked while browsing his phone, not even looking up as he talked to Minho. His glasses slipped down a little as he typed in the name of the restaurant, and even the constant pushing up of his glasses was something Taemin had become quite fond of. It was weird to see what little things he noticed after he had started to be open to the idea of finding a man attractive.  
  
“Kimchi Jjigae for me please,” Minho requested in an overly sweet voice while Taemin wasn’t quite sure where to go or what to do, feeling a little lost standing in the middle of the room.  
  
Jonghyun nodded before turning towards Taemin. “Would you like to check the menu?”  
  
“Do they have Galbitang?” Taemin wondered.  
  
“Of course they have,” Minho interjected from the sidelines and placed his laptop aside to get up, passing Taemin with a smile on his way to the kitchen. He didn’t know much about Jonghyun’s roommate. They had met at university as far as he knew, but Taemin had no idea what Minho’s major was or if he had graduated already because they had never really talked much except for exchanging common courtesies at Jinki’s and Kibum’s bar.  
  
“Want to drink something, Taemin?” Minho asked after he had opened the fridge and showed him a can of beer.  
  
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Taemin replied and took the beer can with a smile, cracking it open as he turned back to Jonghyun who paced through the room and called the restaurant. He ordered quickly; Galbitang for Taemin and Kimchi Jjigae for Minho and himself, announcing that the driver would be here in about half an hour after he hung up.  
  
They took a seat in the living room while they’ve waited, Minho and Jonghyun on the couch and Taemin on the armchair, all three of them silent as they sipped on their beer.  
  
“So, what did you two do today?”  
  
“I took Taemin to the library, wanted to show him some older books we have there on display,” Jonghyun explained and Minho next to him began to chuckle.  
  
“Sounds super interesting,” he said ironically, the corners of Taemin’s lips twitching at the comment.  
  
“It was.” Taemin tried to help Jonghyun out, the tension in the other’s face leaving for a moment while Minho eyed him skeptically, not quite sure how to interpret his reply. He waited for a moment before he asked “What do you do besides working at the Maison? Are you a student or something or are you working somewhere else as well? Jinki and Kibum can’t possibly pay you enough to pay for rent and stuff.”  
  
Minho was quite straight-forward, different compared to Jonghyun who always started at point A and then went over to R and M only to finally end up at B and asked what he wanted to know.  
  
“It’s actually my only job at the moment, and no, I’m not a student anymore. I studied music at university.”  
  
At least music had been the last program he had graduated from. Taemin had tried out all majors he had had any type of interest in over the years, studying in different fields and different countries, having accomplished a Ph.D. in literature, psychology, history, and law to just name a few, every single one of them under a different name. He had chosen the name Lee Taemin for himself only in the early 90s, a fake birth certificate and identification way easier to get on the black market than one might think. Sometimes he had to smirk when he bought alcohol and was asked for his ID, the birthdate on it saying 1993.07.18. He had chosen that specific date because one of his favorite modern rock bands had taken off their clothes on stage during a concert on that day to demonstrate against censorship in music.  
  
“Music, huh? I guess that explains why your voice is so good,” Minho replied and for a moment Taemin wished that this was, in fact, the reason. “So you’ve got rich parents or something?”  
  
Taemin laughed. “No, I don’t.” and left it at that.  
  
Minho showed them some compilation video of the greatest soccer goals in history on Youtube then, and Jonghyun jumped from his seat when the doorbell finally rang. He paid the delivery man and then came back with a basket, unpacking their ordered dishes, plus three small bowls with rice and a plate with seasonal side dishes on the table.  
  
After dinner Jonghyun packed all the plates and bowls back into the basket they had come in and placed it in front of the door so the delivery guy could pick it up again later, Jonghyun looking a little undecided when he came back into the room.  
  
He scratched his head and then looked at Taemin, pointing at a door next to him.  
  
“Do you want to see my room?”  
  
Taemin knew what that question indicated but still said ‘yes’ and got up, ignoring the amused grin on Minho’s face as he passed him.  
  
“Don’t be shocked, it’s – small,” Jonghyun forewarned before he entered the room, Taemin curiously poking his head into it. There was nothing but a mattress lying on the floor and clothes hanging on a rope Jonghyun probably had stretched from one side of the room to the other. Two simple bookshelves were hanging up on the walls, but other than that, the room was empty, the smallness of the room making it impossible to place any furniture anyway.  
  
“It looks cozy,” he said politely and stepped inside, two people in the room already feeling like there was one too many in it. Jonghyun only laughed and went over to the window that went all the way to the floor and pulled it open to reveal the tiniest balcony Taemin had ever seen. It wasn’t possible to stand on it and seemed more like a fancy addition the architect of the building had wanted to include, a bunch of differently sized pots with succulents in them residing on the narrow platform.  
  
“The night view from here is gorgeous,” Jonghyun explained and pointed up to the night sky where the decreasing moon was already high up, reminding Taemin of the first message Jonghyun had sent him. He wondered whether Jonghyun had lain on this mattress while writing it, possibly thinking of him while looking at the moon.  
  
“You like the moon?” he asked though he knew the answer to that question already. Jonghyun looked up at the sky as he hummed with a smile and then turned on a little bedside lamp which stood on the floor next to the mattress. After that he moved over to switch out the ceiling lamp before he sat down onto his mattress, making Taemin feel even more out of place as he stood in the dimly lighted room.  
  
“You can sit if you want to,” Jonghyun said after a moment as if he had read his mind and so Taemin did and crossed his legs, the mattress covered by a black bed cover. Both of them looked up to the firmament, air blowing into the room, making the hair on Taemin’s arms stand up. He could hear Minho next-door who had decided to play a game on his laptop and yelled profanities while his actions were underlined with gunshots, Jonghyun sheepishly apologizing for his roommate.  
  
It was somewhat nice to sit on the mattress and look at the night sky, memories of Persephone popping up who would have been able to tell a story about every star they could see. He began to smile when he noticed parts of the Andromeda constellation that reminded him of her favorite love story.  
  
“Perseus and Andromeda,” he said out loud, causing Jonghyun to turn his head towards him curiously. “Have you heard their story before?”  
  
“Vaguely. There was a lot of killing involved, wasn’t there? Andromeda the beautiful princess who was chained up to a seaside rock as a sacrifice and rescued by Perseus, right?”  
  
Taemin nodded. “Yeah, he killed the monster who was about to kill her and then her uncle who she had been promised to before her parents had decided to sacrifice her.”  
  
“I mean – no matter how much I love Greek mythology, it’s all fucked up,” Jonghyun concluded and leaned against the wall with his back, both of them sharing a laugh. Taemin would have loved to tell him that they weren’t just fucked up but true, that all the wild things humans liked to read about with a little chuckle and sometimes even with horror in their eyes had really happened and wasn’t just fiction that had originated in people’s minds.  
  
“When did you decide to become a singer?”  
  
Jonghyun completely spun around now and inched closer, tilting his head interestedly.  
  
Taemin thought for a moment and bit his lips, trying to come up with something that didn’t sound like ‘I was a Siren so the singing came with the job’.  
  
“I didn’t really have a choice,” he replied hazily, noticing the slight frown that appeared on Jonghyun’s face.  
  
“Are your family members musicians or something?” Jonghyun probed, playing with the seam of his pant leg.  
  
“Something like that.”  
  
Jonghyun seemed to realize that he didn’t feel like talking about it, so he just nodded understandingly and swayed back and forth for a moment.  
  
“I do really like your voice, you know. It’s very pretty,” he said then, looking cute when his cheeks turned a soft pinkish tone. Jonghyun seemed rather shy when it came to flirting if that’s what he was trying to do, and it made Taemin question the other’s experience. Blushing when giving someone a compliment seemed almost absurd, considering Jonghyun was already in his mid-twenties. Maybe the flirting pool for someone in Korea who majored in classical philology wasn’t that big.  
  
“You probably get to hear that a lot,” Jonghyun chuckled now, seemingly embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his nape and looked down at his lap.  
  
“I do, but thank you.”  
  
Taemin pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged them with his arms, noticing how Jonghyun worried his lip next to him, eyes staring holes into his shirt.  
  
“Is something wrong?” he inquired and ducked his head a little to make eye contact with Jonghyun who seemed like he had been caught doing something illegal and winced.  
  
“It’s–,” he began, but paused immediately to sigh exaggeratedly. “I was just wondering – I mean. It’s a little abrupt – perhaps – I mean –.” He scratched his head and tilted it from one side to the other. “It is very sudden – I just – I mean – would you have a problem with –.”  
  
Jonghyun began to helplessly gesticulate in the air now, probably hoping for his hands to get the message across, but Taemin narrowed his eyes, having no idea what the other was trying to say.  
  
“Have a problem with what?” Taemin asked finally, getting a headache from the hems and haws.  
  
“Gosh, this is awkward. I just – I like you – a lot, and I was just wondering, if –,” he pressed his eyes together now, pinching the bridge of his nose as he swore under his breath. “I just – would it be okay if I kissed you,” Jonghyun finally managed to say, the last few words almost getting drowned out as his voice had become softer and softer with every word that left his mouth.  
  
Momentarily stunned by the directness, Taemin didn’t know what to say. He was neither dumb nor naïve enough to think that Jonghyun’s thoughts had all been pure and innocent. However, thinking about it was one thing while wanting to act on it was something entirely different. Jonghyun earned his respect for not just throwing himself at him and hope for the best like so many others had done in the past, and he was thankful that Jonghyun had asked for his consent, but there was no way Taemin would agree to it. The attraction he felt towards Jonghyun aside, he just couldn’t act on it. He treasured his current life in Seoul too much to risk having to leave again because the ghosts of his past would start haunting him again. Despite that, he didn’t want to hurt Jonghyun who seemed like a nice guy and who didn’t deserve to be tossed aside after a fling. Taemin doubted that this was what Jonghyun wanted in the first place, and a relationship was something Taemin would never allow. His heart belonged to Persephone alone, it always had regardless of what his body had been telling him in recent weeks, when his eyes had lingered on Jonghyun's lips for longer than necessary, and his fingers had yearned to touch him just for a second whenever he was near.   
  
“Jonghyun – I,” now he was the one searching for words, not knowing how to dump the other gently. “I –.”  
  
“It’s okay, you don’t need to say anything. It was dumb to even ask. I’m sorry,” Jonghyun interrupted quickly, and waved off any form of further discussion, immediately bringing a little more distance between their bodies. Jonghyun looked crestfallen and it hurt to see him like that, Taemin not knowing what clever thing he could say to make the other feel less bad.  
  
“Jonghyun, look. You are sweet, and surprisingly enough it’s a lot of fun to hang out with you, it’s just –,” he bit his lips and rubbed the skin through the holes in his jeans out of habit as he fumbled with the right words. “I’m not about that life. If we kissed or did anything else, it wouldn’t end well. I don’t want to hurt you, okay? So it’s better if we just stay – friends? Okay?”  
  
Jonghyun didn’t say anything for a while, eyes cast at the mattress, fingers playing with the bed cover, but in time he gave a short nod and raised his eyes, saying “Friends sounds okay.”


	7. Chapter 7

**13th century B.C. – Ancient Greece - Underworld**

** **

helxiepeia rested on a pile of stones after coming back to the Underworld, the Sirens’ day on the sea having been long, gruesome, and exhausting. Her sister slept next to her on the ground, her feathers and skin dusty from the gravel, blood from the sailors they had killed earlier still sticking to her claws. The Siren was about to clean her plumage when she heard a soft voice coming from around the corner, its sweet tone instantly making her heart leap in joy.  
  
“Thelxiepeia,” it called “Over here.”  
  
The Siren began to smile when she spotted Persephone peeking out behind a stone wall, her long black hair, neatly pinned up with filigree worked golden ornaments that resembled beautiful hydrangea. Carefully, Thelxiepeia hopped over to her and greeted her with a soft-spoken “My love.”  
  
“Come with me, I want to show you something,” Persephone whispered and appeared excited for the first time in a while. She looked beautifully dressed in her dark purple robe, golden embroidery running along her thin waist.  
  
Thelxiepeia hesitated and looked around. “What if he sees us?”  
  
“He won’t. He went up to Mount Olympus to dine with father. He won’t be back for another few hours. Please, I really want to show you,” she begged with a little pout, the sweetness of her face hard for the Siren to resist. The Sirens had been working in the Underworld for a year now, and with every passing day the hatred Thelxiepeia felt towards the head of the house, increased. Hades was sadistic and cruel, enjoyed torturing his subjects which even included Persephone who he had taken as his wife.  
  
“What is it that you want to show me?” Thelxiepeia asked hesitantly, voice soft and gentle as she didn’t want to wake up her sister, Persephone only playfully shaking her head in return.  
  
“I won’t say. It’s a surprise.”  
  
Persephone took the Siren by the hand and led the way through a tangle of tunnels in the Underworld, their steps echoing along the stone walls surrounding them. They walked for about ten minutes until they reached one of the many gardens Hades had created for Persephone, all of them themed differently to keep the goddess happy and entertained while he was gone. There were fruit trees and wildflowers, and a little pond that housed colorful fishes. Above their heads flew small birds, chirping, and warbling, giving the impression of a real ecosystem. The garden reminded Thelxiepeia of happier times, the illusion destroyed when she glanced up and didn’t see the blue sky but a ceiling made of stone.  
  
“Look, I’ve finally managed to grow them here. Your favorites,” Persephone smiled happily and sank to her knees to gently cup her hands around a poppy, petals soft to the touch and bright red.  
  
Touched by the gesture, the Siren sank next to Persephone and marveled at the flowers, hand reaching out to take the goddess’ hands into hers.  
  
She cocked her head when she said “They are beautiful, my love,” thumbs gently stroking over the back of Persephone’s hands. Thelxiepeia missed spending time with her, Persephone kept away from the other residents in the Underworld when Hades was present. He kept her like a bird in a golden cage, isolated from everything that could be a temptation.  
  
“Come and rest your head in my lap,” Persephone said after a while, and smoothed her robe, the Siren carefully nestling her head upon her lap, staring up at the goddess with a fond smile. Naturally, Persephone began to hum a soft melody as she combed the Siren’s hair, her fingers gently untangling the strands which had been tousled through the wind on the sea.  
  
Pensively Thelxiepeia gazed at her, worried about Persephone’s state. She knew that the goddess suffered as she was kept prisoner by her uncle in the Underworld, the sadness in her eyes unbearable for the Siren to watch. The goddess tried to hold her head high and to not show her inner torment, but Thelxiepeia knew that she wanted to go home to her mother and see the sun again.  
  
“Shall we stargaze together, my love?” Persephone asked, hands gently caressing her cheeks and neck, and massaging her shoulders.  
  
“I’d like that,” the Siren replied and the two of them lay down in the grass next to each other like they used to, Thelxiepeia’s head resting on her shoulder as they held hands and closed their eyes. They couldn’t see the stars from Persephone’s garden, but they could imagine them, the goddess’ describing the night sky to her and telling her favorite stories about it. The tale of Andromeda and Perseus was her favorite since it showed a love that could overcome every obstacle. She had told the Siren once that it reminded her of their relationship and that’s why she liked it so much, Thelxiepeia able to relate to Perseus because she too would have done anything to protect Persephone and be together with her forever.  
  
Some time passed until Thelxiepeia felt Persephone move beside her, the motion making her open her eyes to check on the other who was looking at her.  
  
“What is it, my love?” the Siren asked, anxious, the goddess only smiling at her before she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her lips.  
  
“It’s nothing. I just thought about how beautiful you are,” she said after she had pulled back a bit again, lips still close to Thelxiepeia who blushed and dropped her gaze.  
  
“Don’t lie to me, my love. I know what I look like now. I’m a monster,” the Siren whispered, and raised one of her arms, showing Persephone the flight feathers growing out of the back of her arm. Instead of showing empathy with the Siren, Persephone chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind Thelxiepeia’s ear, dreamily looking at her.  
  
She tilted her head and placed one of her hands above the other’s heart before she said “Don’t be senseless, my dear. You are still the most beautiful person to me. It doesn’t matter what you look like, as long as it is you who is inside that body.”  
  
Persephone then moved on to kiss her again, her lips pressing a little more urgently against the Siren’s. Persuading Thelxiepeia to open her lips with her tongue, Persephone rolled them over until she lay on top of the other, soft little sighs leaving the Siren as the goddess licked into her mouth. She trembled feverishly as Persephone ended their kiss and smiled down at her, only to skid a little lower and press a kiss to the tip of her breast. Circling a forefinger around it, she gently smiled down at the Siren before she said once more “You are really beautiful, Thelxiepeia!”


	8. Chapter 8

**Present day - South Korea - Seoul**

** **

onghyun sat at the bar and was on his second bottle of soju. Usually, he stayed away from anything that had a higher alcohol percentage than beer, but after getting friend-zoned the night before he had to drown his sorrow. It had been too good to be true, he realized that now. Him starting to get closer to Taemin and hanging out with him more regularly had seemed like a dream come true, but he had woken up from it and was confronted with the harsh reality now, wondering how he could have ever been so naïve to believe that there had been a spark of magic between them.  
  
“You were right and I hope you are happy now,” he murmured and rose his glass to cheer, chugging the shot.  
  
Kibum looked at him sympathetically. “Believe it or not, but in this case, I hate to be wrong. After you’ve told me you’ve met up several times I thought you might have found a loophole.”  
  
“No loophole detected,” he sighed and let his forehead sink onto the counter, having a hard time to suppress the urge of hitting his head against it.  
  
Minho patted his back, trying to be a good sport by reciting helpful advice for the brokenhearted that he had found on Naver. Kibum and Minho felt so bad for him that for the time being they hadn’t even irritated one another, talking to each other like actual civilized humans for which Jonghyun was thankful.  
  
“Jonghyun, the saying ‘there are plenty of fish in the sea’ is really true. It’s okay if you are upset now, but don’t forget that there are dozens of people out there who would cut their hand off to go on a date with you,” Jinki tried to cheer him up as well and made sure the little bowl of peanuts in front of Jonghyun was always filled. He had even built a little man out of paper and had drawn a smile onto his face for Jonghyun, placing it against the little peanut bowl with a cocktail umbrella in its hand.  
  
Jonghyun only hummed to everything the others said, not really in the mood for talking. He just wanted to mope for the time being and feel sorry for himself. He hit rock bottom when Taemin arrived at quarter to ten, the singer greeting them all kindly before he made his way over to the stage, pretending as nothing had ever happened.  
  
“Damn, he’s cold as ice,” Minho commented in a whisper tone, adding “If you want me to hate him, I do that for you. Do we hate him now?”  
  
Jonghyun shook his head. “No, we don’t. He didn’t do anything wrong. For a moment I was just so blinded that I thought I was desirable enough for someone like him to like me in an actual romantic way.”  
  
“Oh honey, you are perfect just the way you are,” Kibum exclaimed now and leaned over the counter to touch Jonghyun’s hair, tousling it a little like one would do with a dog.  
  
Hearing Taemin sing was gruesome because no matter how hard he tried to not make his heart skip with every tone leaving the singer’s mouth, he just couldn’t help it. The spell was still there and worked its magic perfectly on him, his heart aching as Taemin stroke up a song about a broken heart.  
  
“I think I leave for the night. I just – I just can’t listen to him tonight,” he muttered after Taemin had finished his second song, the words he had said out loud feeling wrong to him.  
  
“Totally understandable,” all of his friends agreed with him in unison and so he bid them goodbye before he left the bar with Minho, the first time in his life that he didn’t listen Taemin’s set from start to finish. He would have never believed to feel so empty after being rejected, but he did. There was a part in him that felt like it had completely been torn apart, ripped into pieces and tossed into the darkest corner. Having never felt so attracted to anyone before in his life he felt betrayed, robbed of the only chance to ever fully give himself to someone. Jonghyun had been attracted to others and had dated, but he had never been in love, his attraction only ever running skin deep. He couldn’t understand it himself, but until he had seen Taemin for the first time he had never understood what people meant when they talked about ‘love at first sight’ or having ‘met their soulmate’. It was odd to think that way, considering that Taemin and he had only started to hang out in recent weeks, but there was a strong pull in his chest, and an aching in his heart whenever he had been near Taemin, something so uncontrollably powerful that it made him question his sanity. He just had wanted to be near him, be with him, but Taemin had trampled on the tiniest hope he had carried in his heart.  
  
Things got worse instead of better in the next three weeks, Jonghyun barely being able to get out of bed because he saw no point in leaving his room, the only times he crawled out of bed when he had to go to his part-time job. He spent hours just watching the sun wander over his succulents, head bedded on his arms as he contemplated life. He had stopped visiting the Maison de l’arc-en-ciel altogether, always saying ‘No’ when Minho asked him if he wanted to tag along. Facing Taemin and hearing his voice was just too agonizing. Taemin had sent him a message at some point asking him if everything was alright, but he had ignored it, not wanting to tell Taemin that his rejection had ripped his heart into pieces. He knew that he acted childishly and that he should have moved on, but something inside of him just wouldn’t let him. There was a tightness in him, a string that always wanted to pull him towards the singer, and he had a hard time resisting the urge to just fall back into old patterns.  
  
In the end, it was a translation he needed help with that made him contact Taemin again, though a little reluctantly. His message had been short and to the point, asking Taemin if they could meet up shortly so he could help him with a few text passages that he didn’t quite understand. Taemin had answered almost immediately and had told him that he could drop by at his place any time, the smiley face at the end only making Jonghyun feel worse. He had never been at Taemin’s though he had always been curious about it.  
  
“Should I come with you?” Minho asked him when Jonghyun was about to meet up with Taemin a day later, worry visible on his face.  
  
“No, it’s okay. It will be fine. Don’t worry. I will make it quick,” he tried to reassure his roommate, forcing himself to a tiny smile as he grabbed his shoulder bag and headed for the door.  
  
“Call me when I should come over to get you or to beat Taemin up, okay?” Minho yelled after him, making Jonghyun involuntarily smile.  
  
“You are really like a knight in shining armor.”  
  
It took him forty minutes and two train changes to get to Taemin’s place, his nerves on edge by the time he reached the building. He checked the address several times to make sure he stood in front of the right one, dumbfounded by the luxurious exterior. For a second the absurd thought crossed Jonghyun’s mind that Taemin might have a sugar daddy, but that idea faded quickly as he stepped inside the building and took the elevator to the 15th floor. Everything still looked new and expensive so Jonghyun didn’t even dare to lean against anything on his way up, stiffly standing in the middle, his knees starting to get wobbly.  
  
He hadn’t seen Taemin in weeks, heart in his mouth as he stood in front of the other’s door and rung the bell. Taemin looked stunningly beautiful when he opened it a few moments later, hair a little longer than he remembered, body clad in an oversized black sweatshirt with a low cut collar, and a pair of loose black sweatpants.  
  
“Hey,” Taemin welcomed him, Jonghyun not able to answer immediately because his mouth felt dry. Why was life so unfair and had sent him someone who didn’t want to be with him?  
  
“Come in.”  
  
Gesturing inside, Jonghyun followed Taemin’s instructions, mouth falling open when he noticed the dimensions of Taemin’s apartment. His living room alone seemed to have the size of his and Minho’s complete apartment.  
  
“This is a palace,” he gasped in disbelief and looked around, to his right an open kitchen with a cooking island and to his left an area with expensive-looking designer couches, a huge flat screen hanging on the wall. Taemin merely chuckled and walked past him to the kitchen, offering him something to drink.  
  
Jonghyun couldn’t stop staring at all the designer furniture and suddenly felt bad for having let Taemin sit on an old mattress in a tiny storage room.  
  
“Are you the son of some rich chaebol?” he asked and flinched when he felt something stroke his leg. When he looked down he saw a huge cat walking along his leg multiply times, amber-colored eyes focusing on him as she meowed.  
  
“That must be Aglaopheme,” Jonghyun assumed and leaned down to let the cat sniff his hand. He knew that was something people did with dogs they met for the first time, so it couldn’t be too bad to let a cat do it.  
  
“Yes, in the flesh,” Taemin commented and came up to him with two cans of coke. When the cat firmly pressed her head against his hand Jonghyun presumed that it was okay to pat her now, and touched her head a little awkwardly, not used to being around cats.  
  
“Nice to meet you,” he introduced himself, blushing when Taemin snickered next to him. His breath got caught when Taemin leaned down to pick Aglaopheme up, the movement revealing two sharp collar bones that were way too inviting looking. Taemin held the cat securely in his arms and took one of her front paws to wave at Jonghyun, saying in a squeaky voice “Nice to meet you, too,” the act so cute that Jonghyun just wanted to turn around and leave, not sure how he was supposed to be near Taemin without losing it. For a moment he had even forgotten why he had come, Taemin having to remind him while he stroked his cat and pressed a kiss against her face.  
  
“So, what’s the text I’m supposed to help you with?”  
  
“Ah, yeah,” Jonghyun began and hectically fumbled with his shoulder bag until he had managed to open it. He pulled out an old book which had been printed in the late 19th century. “I thought you might be able to help me with this. I didn’t want to ask my professors and you are the only person I know below the age of sixty who speaks both languages fluently.”  
  
Jonghyun didn’t quite understand why the comment made Taemin snicker peculiarly, but he led him to the couch afterward and asked him to take a seat as he settled down with Aglaopheme and placed her on his lap, the cat not staying for long before she jumped down and walked over to a tiny food bowl that was placed right in front of massive windows, Jonghyun wondering whether Taemin had put the bowl there because he thought his cat might enjoy a nice view while eating.  
  
“It begins with chapter three. There are sticky notes to mark the passages. The author speaks about the symbolism of Achilles and Patroclus relationship, but he uses too many words I don’t quite get, and some grammar that confuses me,” Jonghyun admitted and handed Taemin the book who opened it almost gracefully, nail dipping between the sites Jonghyun had stuck his first note onto. Taemin sat there for a while saying nothing as he studied the page, pointer finger following his flow of reading, Jonghyun sitting next to him, not quite sure if he should say something while he read or stay silent so Taemin could concentrate. Folding his hands, he eventually decided for the latter and watched Taemin from the side, his side profile just as pretty as the front view was. He just wanted to kiss him so badly, Taemin’s lips so plump and slightly opened as he read. Jonghyun hated himself for thinking like that, for not being able to stop staring at the singer, but that pull inside of him almost drove him mad, a voice whispering to just lean forward and kiss the other even if it meant that they wouldn’t see each other again.  
  
Just one kiss, a tiny little kiss.  
  
“It’s – how should I put it,” Taemin began speaking again after a few minutes and sat back, holding the opened book in both hands. “He talks about the ambiguity of language Homer used in the Iliad and that he agrees with Plato’s thoughts in the Symposium in which he states that Achilles’ and Patroclus’ friendship was platonic basically.”  
  
“That’s bullshit,” Jonghyun called out, Taemin looking up at him in surprise. “Sorry.”  
  
“Scholars were all just so homophobic back then. God forbid that any form of relationship could exist besides the one between a man and a woman,” talking himself into a rage, Jonghyun rose his arms, once again baffled by the sheer ignorance of people back then. Though he was used to it, it didn’t make him feel any less bad about it.  
  
“Don’t get me wrong, but shouldn’t you be a little more neutral as a future scientist. After all, you can’t ask Homer himself to find out why their relationship was stated the way it is. Besides as far as I know many classists support your views in their writings, no?” Taemin smiled at him before he flipped to the next page with a sticky note.  
  
“Yes, but most see it as pederasty which was quite common back in ancient Greece, but I don’t think it was just that. I mean – the way Achilles wept after he lost Patroclus, I can’t help but think that only people who lost their one true love would mourn someone’s death like that.”  
  
There came an acknowledging hum from his left, and when Jonghyun looked to check on Taemin the other was nodding his head thoughtfully.  
  
“Do you think you can handle me translating the other passages you’ve marked?” Taemin grinned at him which made Jonghyun feel embarrassed. He gave Taemin’s knee a little disapproving nudge before he leaned down to grab his notepad and a ballpen from his bag.  
  
“Go ahead, I’m ready,” he claimed in a fighting manner and bent over the couch table, ready to write everything down that left Taemin’s mouth. And that’s exactly what he did for the next two hours, patiently waiting for Taemin to collect his thoughts before he wrote them down, trying to suppress any form of judgment he felt rising in his throat whenever the other translated something he didn’t agree with.  
  
When they had finished working on the last sticky note Taemin fell against the backrest of the couch in exhaustion and combed his hair, mumbling “When you said something about some passages I didn’t think it would be half of the book. My head feels like it’s about to explode.”  
  
“Sorry, about that,” Jonghyun replied sheepishly as he underlined a few sentences he considered extra important. “I owe you something, really. You helped me a lot with that, thanks.”  
  
“No problem at all. I’m glad my language skills could be of use in some way. I haven’t read anything written in Greek in quite some time. It was fun,” he admitted with a smile before he stretched dramatically, the hem of his sweatshirt lifting to reveal a small belly button, and Jonghyun not being able to keep himself away from casting a glance at it. Taemin seemed to notice as he immediately dropped his arms again and smoothed his shirt, Jonghyun quite disappointed that all he took away from the sight was a little mole that was placed right next to Taemin’s navel.  
  
Jonghyun cleared his throat as he got up from his seat, feeling like it was the right time to leave. He had already spent way more time at Taemin’s than he had intended.  
  
“I think I should be heading home now. I’m sure you still have other things to do,” he babbled and put his notepad and the book back into the bag.  
  
“Already?”  
  
When Jonghyun nodded Taemin halted for a moment before he asked: “Is it because of what has happened at your place?”  
  
“No, of course not. Everything is fine,” Jonghyun said a little too rushed to be convincing, the raise of one eyebrow telling him that Taemin didn’t believe a word of what he had just said.  
  
“I’m sorry if I hurt you. It wasn’t my intention, really,” Taemin began, pulling one of the sleeves of his sweater over his hand. “I just thought it’s better that way in the long run – for both of us.”  
  
Worrying his lip, Jonghyun stood in Taemin’s apartment, not quite knowing what to respond. He hadn’t planned on ever talking about this with the other again. There was no need for him to get rejected a second time.  
  
“It’s okay. I understand. I wouldn’t want to kiss me either,” he said with a smile, trying to see the humor in the situation despite feeling awful on the inside.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Taemin sighed, his voice sounding almost disappointed. “I do find you very attractive, so that’s not the reason why I don’t think us kissing is a bad idea.”  
  
Hearing that reply annoyed Jonghyun since he didn’t understand what the big deal about two grown-up men kissing each other was. They weren’t talking about a marriage proposal or moving in together, it was just a kiss.  
  
“What is it then?” Jonghyun asked and sighed in disappointment when his question stayed unanswered, Taemin looking at the floor instead of him. “I’m heading home now. I see you around sometime.”  
  
Everything inside of him screamed to not leave Taemin’s place just yet, his fingers shaking as he turned around and headed for the door. With every step he took further away from Taemin the pain in his chest grew, feet feeling like lead as he walked. He had the door handle in his hand already when there was a “Wait,” coming from the couch, followed by indistinct muttering before he could hear Taemin say “I will so regret doing this. I’m sorry, my love.”  
  
Jonghyun had no idea what was going on or whom Taemin was even talking to, but when he heard footsteps coming closer he twisted around and froze, the other standing right in front of him. There was visible hesitation in Taemin’s eyes, Jonghyun’s heartbeat ringing in his ears as he just stared back, not knowing what was going on or what he was supposed to do.  
  
When Taemin took his face into his hands, he gulped, feeling like he was about to faint as Taemin came so close that Jonghyun could see the slight stubble beneath his bottom lip. He wasn’t prepared for what came next, eyes wide opened in shock as Taemin leaned forward to lock his lips with his own, the subtle touch, sending electric shocks through his entire body. Jonghyun went limp in the other’s arms as his eyes fell shut, suddenly pictures of people he had never seen before flashing up in front of his inner eye. He saw scenes of two women being together, loving each other, he heard laughter and felt pain, his eyes starting to water out of nowhere. When Taemin wanted to pull away, he desperately held onto him, fingers digging into his waist, as he saw surroundings he only knew from tales. There were flashes and thunder, his mind on fire. Overwhelmed by all the colors, scents, sounds, and feelings Jonghyun didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what was happening. There were gods and humans, blazing fires and thick clouds, and always those two women kissing and holding each other close. Jonghyun had never experienced something similar, his whole body tensed to the maximum. There was so much laughter and loving glances, and all of a sudden he heard a name, loud and clear, lips pulling away from Taemin in confusion to breathe out “Thelxiepeia.”


	9. Chapter 9

**13th century B.C. – Ancient Greece - Underworld**

** **

helxiepeia found Persephone who was robed in the noblest attire sitting at the river Lethe, her beautiful face buried in her hands. The shimmering green water cast shadows against the walls around them, shapeless figures dancing along the rocks, the steady stream of water resounding in the narrow passage.  
  
“My love, what’s wrong? Our master has been looking for you.”  
  
Pained by her beloved’s sorrowful expression Thelxiepeia stalked over to Persephone on her avian legs, protectively spreading her wings around the petit woman, nuzzling her face into her neck.  
  
“Oh my dearest, I don’t want to, I can’t no more. I want to forget, I just want to forget, Thelxiepeia. I want to drink the water of the river Lethe and drown in oblivion like all those other unfortunate souls. But I can’t. He won’t let me,” she sobbed, wetting the Siren’s brown feathers with her tears.  
  
Holding her just a little tighter, Thelxiepeia caressed her rosy cheeks and wiped the tears away. There was so much sadness in her, her once shining eyes now reflecting the deepest and darkest thoughts that tormented her.  
  
“But if you drank from the river Lethe you would not only forget him but also me.”  
  
“I could never forget you, my love,” Persephone wailed and threw her arms around the Siren, pressing her face into her chest, fingertips digging deep into her waist. “I could never,” she repeated, voice muffled.  
  
Thelxiepeia kissed her hair and then her forehead, wishing for her kisses to ease Persephone’s sorrows. Hades had been cruel to her, Thelxiepeia knew, tricking Persephone into eating a pomegranate seed so she had to stay with him in the Underworld. A beautiful flower like her was not meant to be hidden away in the darkest part of the world. She would slowly start to wither, her beauty fading as no sunlight would ever touch her skin.  
  
“Let’s run away from here, my love. Why can’t we just run away?” Persephone whispered, her voice a lovely but painful song. She looked at the Siren, begging her to take her away from the Underworld and back to her mother.  
  
“You wouldn’t come far, my love. Cerberus wouldn’t let you pass.”  
  
The answer was not what Persophone wanted to hear, and she started to cry harder, her body shaking and crumbling, all strength leaving her. Thelxiepeia couldn’t bear to see her beloved one in so much pain and therefore came up with a cunning plan that hopefully would lead them to freedom. She told Persephone that they would lure in the next ship that passed the Sirens’ island until it shipwrecked on the rocky coast. Thelxiepeia and her sister would then bring the dead sailors to Charon, the ferryman, who would guide them to the Underworld. She hoped Cerberus, Hades beloved hell-hound, would be too occupied with the new arrivals and not notice if Persephone quickly slipped through the entrance, hidden beneath Hades’ cap of invisibility. The Siren would wait for her right on the other side and would take her onto her back and fly far, far away from the Underworld and Hades who caused Persephone so much pain. The chances for success were slim, but Persephone wanted to try it in her desperation, wanted her freedom back, a hopeful shimmer sparkling in her eyes when Thelxiepeia finished telling her about the plan. Thelxiepeia had told Persephone to hide near the Underworld’s entrance and wait for Cerberus first bark in anticipation of the newly gained souls. Aglaopheme had been against the plan at first, afraid of the consequences they would have to suffer from if the Siren’s plan failed. It had taken Thelxiepeia almost all night to convince her sister to support her mission, only the promise of potentially getting her beauty back, persuading Aglapheme’s stubborn but vain personality in the end to help her.  
  
By sunrise the Sirens were out on the sea, circling their island high up in the air, looking out for ships. A merchants’ ship appeared at the horizon when the sun had reached its highest point, the Siren’s heart beating high in her chest as she settled down on the rocky stones to start singing her deadly song. Surrounded by bones and skulls the sisters lulled the sailors in, obstructing their vision, clouding their minds.  
  
“Come here, you strongest of men,” they sang in unison, watching as the ship slowly changed direction, their voices beguiling them into heading directly towards their deaths. The sea was calm, no bird could be heard, the Sirens song touching the sailors deep in their core. “Lovely men, listen to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song—and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon your kind, and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world,” they weaved their usual spider web of lies and watched as the sailors used their oars and turned the sea into foam as they hectically tried to reach the shore, blinded by the Sirens’ song.  
  
Close enough to the island Thelxiepeia and her sibling didn’t hesitate and attacked the sailors, no ounce of empathy in their bodies for mere humans. More aggressively than usual Thelxiepeia plunged down and clawed out a sailor’s eyes, the man’s screams sweetly rippling through her body. For the first time, Thelxiepeia didn’t harvest souls for the God of the Underworld, adrenaline kicking in as blood gushed out of the human’s body, giving her a satisfaction only Sirens understood. Within three minutes the Sirens had slaughtered twenty men together, their feathers and claws covered in thick, red blood as they landed on a pile of corpses, the sailors’ ship gently swaying on the sea.  
  
The Sirens waited for the sailors’ souls to leave their bodies before they escorted them to the entrance of the Underworld, passing the cave of the beasts in which Geryon, the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera, Centaurs, and the Sirens themselves resided. A constant rumble could be heard from there, echoing through their lair, Hades little garrison, ready to fight for him at all times. Though Sirens knew no fear, Thelxiepeia felt uneasy as they reached the river Styx and she saw Charon already waiting for them on his raft, the hunchbacked old man with his white beard which reached down to his feet, greeting them with a silent nod. He was blind and deaf and yet he was able to sense the presence of someone else, waiting until all souls had entered his raft before he started rowing. The water was crystal clear, stalactites hanging from the high ceilings, shimmering when the shine of the lantern that was fastened to an upright stick at the front of the black raft hit them. Except for the steady rowing of Charon nothing could be heard, not the drops of water falling from the stalactites and into the river Styx, nor the flapping of the Sirens’ wings as they closely followed Charon over the water.  
  
They could hear Cerberus already from afar, his metallic sounding barks piercing marrow and bone. No one alive had ever made it past him nor had any dead person managed to get out of the Underworld again. He was Hades most favorite pet, an offspring of the monsters Echnida and Typhon, the guard in front of the gates to the Underworld. Unlike his siblings, Lernaean Hydra and Chimera who were nothing more than foot soldiers to Hades, the three-headed Cerberus with his deathly breath and snake’s tail stood in favor of the Underworld’s god, almost treated like a human’s lapdog by him despite his gruesome appearance.  
  
Thelxiepeia hoped that Persephone had managed to get her hands on Hades’ invisibility cap, the metal helmet sitting enthroned on a velvety cushion near the bed Persephone had to share with Hades every night. The Siren felt tension in her body as she got closer to the golden entrance, Cerberus’ barks getting louder and more threatening. The entrance was a huge archway made out of skulls, Hades’ power letting them appear like they were made out of pure gold, colorful gemstones sitting in the sockets of their eyes. When the raft reached the shore, Cerberus was already waiting for them, impatiently pacing up and down the ash and bone covered ground, his tail lashing out, and greenish drool falling from his jaw as he bared his teeth at them, teeth spiky and yellowed. His coat tinted in the darkest black and his eyes threateningly gleaming in crimson red, Cerberus examined the souls one by one, a deep growl signalizing his approval.  
  
After a wordless exchange with her sister, Thelxiepeia carefully hopped to the sidelines, knowing the procedure all too well by now, and came to a halt near the entrance. She waited there, not leaving the hell-hound out of sight for a second, flinching when she felt a hand on her shoulder. For a second it felt like a burden had been lifted off of her and she tried to not let it show on her face when Persephone carefully climbed onto her back, being completely silent. Cerberus not noticing that the queen of the Underworld was about to flee her husband was almost too good to be true, and the Siren couldn’t believe it, carefully skipping back to Charon and her sister when Persephone was securely sitting on her back. She shivered from the tension in her body and for a moment she thought she had gotten caught when Cerberus took a step forwards them, sniffing; one nostril as big as the Siren’s head. But instead of discovering the Siren’s disobedience towards Hades and unmasking Persephone, the hell-hound only huffed and let them pass, Thelxiepeia soon flying towards the exit with her beloved one sitting on her back.  
  
She wanted to fly one loop after another and laugh out loud at the dog’s dumbness, still not believing their luck. It all had been so easy and soon they would be safe and Thelxiepeia could bring Persephone back to her mother Demeter where they could lie in the grass again and pick up flowers for each other, the Siren hoping that Demeter might even turn her back to a Nymph.  
  
But things did not turn out as planned. The Siren already saw the ocean and the blue sky at the end of the cave, freedom almost within reach, when a sudden, ineffable power grabbed them and flung them to the ground with force, the impact indescribable, Thelxiepeia rolling over the rocks, skin slashing open on cheek and chest, the pain in one wing so bad that she felt like it had been snapped in two.  
  
“My love,” she panted as she crawled over the ground, afraid that Persephone might had been hurt, mind dizzy and her wounds subordinate. The Siren tried to get up and looked around, little rocks cutting into her palms, blood running from her wounds. When she discovered Persephone she panicked, the goddess lying on the ground unconscious, the cap of invisibility lying next to her.  
  
“Persephone,” the Siren shrieked in panic and scrambled towards her, carefully lifting Persephone’s head to place it in her feathery lap, fingers shaking as she combed through her long black hair. “My love, please. Please open your eyes.”  
  
There was a cut on Persephone’s temple and Thelxiepeia gently brushed a trickle of blood oozing from the wound away, breath getting caught in her lungs when the goddess’s lips left a small grunt, her eyelashes fluttering.  
  
“What was that?” she mumbled, hand reaching out to hold her head, eyes slowly opening with a frown.  
  
“Are you okay, my love?” Thelxiepeia asked, anxious, brushing a few strands of hair out of Persephone’s face. “I was so worried.”  
  
A sudden bang let both of them flinch in fear and when they turned their heads to the direction the sound had been coming from they saw a dusky, purple cloud appear in front of them, the sight of Hades stepping out of it, petrifying them. He dragged the Siren’s sister along behind him, holding onto her golden locks, Aglaopheme whimpering in pain as she struggled in his grasp, her body covered in cuts.  
  
“Oh well, well – whom do we have here? My beloved wife and their avian friend lying on the ground in the midst of rocks and bugs. Oh, Persephone, my love, your beautiful robe is all soiled now, what pity.” Hades’ deep, velvety voice was dipped in sarcasm, every word reverberating through the cave like the strikes of a whip. He moved towards them without making a single sound, tall and noble-looking in his black toga, his sandal-clad feet not touching the ground.  
  
“Aglaopheme,” the Siren gasped, her heart breaking as she saw how Hades kicked Aglaopheme away like a bug, Thelxiepeia’s sister stumbling to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she held her wing.  
  
“A little early for a trip to Mount Olympus, isn’t it, my love? Spring is not near yet,” he spoke, nonchalant, Thelxiepeia recoiling and lowering her head in humility against her will when Hades halted in front of her, crouching down to look at the Siren’s face.  
  
“And you, you ugly monster. Did your bird brain really believe Cerberus wouldn’t notice that you and your dumb sister kidnapped my beloved wife? That you were trying to steal her away from me?”  
  
The Siren groaned in pain when Hades grabbed her hair in handfuls and pulled it back so she had no other choice but to look at him, his eyes black and intimidating. Thelxiepeia wanted to speak, but her neck felt like a rope was strung around it, squeezing so hard that she could hardly breathe.  
  
Rattling in her throat, the Siren helplessly held onto her neck, trying to untie the invisible string that slowly suffocated her, eyes rolling back, body violently shaking.  
  
“Stop, stop, Hades, please stop, you are hurting her,” Persephone intervened with tears in her eyes and sat up, hitting at Hades with tiny fists, desperately clawing at his toga, not bearing to see Thelxiepeia suffer like that.  
  
“Aww – are those tears, my love?”  
  
Pushed down into the ground the Siren was suddenly able to breathe again, lungs hectically gasping for air, hands still holding onto her neck. Hades looked at Persephone now and gently pulled her hands away from his toga to hold onto them instead.  
  
“Why are you crying, my love? Haven’t I given you all a woman can wish for?” he feigned being the one being heartbroken with a soft, theatrical voice. “I gave you the most beautiful robes, built gardens with the rarest of flowers in them just for you, I even took in your two companions so you aren’t lonely when I’m gone. And what are you giving me in return? You ungrateful woman? You are trying to run away from me. No one loves you as much as I do, and yet you betray me like that, acting so foolishly behind my back. Conspire against me.”  
  
Hades voice got louder now as he pulled Persephone up, holding her against his chest while she tried to wiggle out of his embrace.  
  
“You know you can’t get away from me, my love. You know that, right?” He stroked her cheek with his fingertips, Persephone shaking under his touch. She looked so small pressed against his broad chest, struggling in his arms, feet almost lifting from the ground as she stood on her tiptoes. Thelxiepeia wanted to help her, but couldn’t, something pressing down onto her chest as heavy as an anvil, preventing her from getting up.  
  
“Leave her alone,” the Siren shouted instead, but all she evoked from the Underworld’s god in return was a bitter laugh; loud and spiteful.  
  
“It’s impolite to speak if not asked to, monster,” Hades talked down to the Siren and with a flick of his finger Thelxiepeia mouth was gone, skin filling the space where it used to be, her eyes widening in shock, hands flying up to touch her face. The Siren tried to speak, tried to shout, but nothing came out, fingers scratching at her skin.  
  
“Oh love, I never understood your attachment to this thing. Look how the little bird helplessly struggles. How can you be fond of this pitiful monster when you have me, the man who would do anything for you?”  
  
“You are the monster Hades not her,” Persephone spat back, drumming her fists against Hades’ chest, trying to break free like a bird from its cage.  
  
Grinning sardonically, Hades let go of Persephone and placed one hand on his chest, watching as Persephone stumbled towards the Siren and sank to her knees next to her.  
  
“My love, your words are hurting me,” he said mockingly and put one finger against his chin in thought, humming.  
  
“So tell me what should I do with you? You tried to make a mockery of the god of the Underworld. What would the other gods think if they found out that I, the big Hades, can’t keep my woman happy so she lets herself mount like a whore by a mere Siren? I would be the laughing stock on Mount Olympus.”  
  
Hades walked up and down in front of the small group, toga swaying with his movements, Persephone not caring for the God’s antics and gently brushing hair out of the Siren’s face.  
  
“Just looking at you two disgusts me,” he then said and turned back towards them with a growl. “So we have to change that, isn’t that so? My love, do you have a suggestion about what I should be doing with you?”  
  
Persephone knew whatever she would say now, Hades had already made up his mind. She still mustered up her courage and held onto the Siren when she said: “Let us go, then you don’t have to see us ever again.”  
  
The snort Hades made sounded evil and he cocked his head to the side, scratching his nose.  
  
“Oh, my sweet child of spring, you know that I can’t do that even if I wanted to,” he said, his voice getting higher, acting like his arms were bound and he had no power over what would happen to them. When he casually turned his hand a tiny vial appeared in his hand with an emerald green liquid in it.  
  
“Do you know what this is, my love?” he asked teasingly and lifted his other hand that forced Persephone up against her will, the young goddess powerless against Hades’ will as she was pulled towards the Underworld’s god.  
  
“Poison?” Persephone asked, causing Hades to laugh and shake his head.  
  
“Poison? Oh, my love, who do you think I am? Death would be the easy way out, wouldn’t it?”  
  
Hades swayed the little ampoule in front of Persephone’s face, Thelxiepeia defenselessly watching from where she was trapped on the ground. She knew the contents of the little ampoule, the thought of Persephone taking even the tiniest sip of it, bringing tears to her eyes.  
  
“It’s water from the river Lethe. You wanted to drink it all along, didn’t you? Now after a lot of thinking I grant you this wish. See how kind I am?” Hades whispered close to Persephone’s ear, the goddess’ eyes fixed on the Siren lying on the ground, her lips quivering, and tears blurring her vision.  
  
“Oh my, my – are those tears of happiness, I see?” Wiping Persephone’s cheek he stepped behind her and embraced her, placing his head on her small shoulder, eyes looking at the Siren, grinning tauntingly.  
  
“As for you, my little bird, I have the most splendid plan in mind,” Hades began, grin widening eerily. “I send you back to the human world, am I not nice? But not as a nymph like you used to be but as a mere mortal. One that cannot die. And dying is something you will definitely want to do when you start feeling the guilt of having murdered hundreds of innocent sailors just to satisfy your lust for blood,” he continued, Persephone yelling ‘No, no, you can’t’ at him, but the grip around her only tightened.  
  
“And you know what’s the most beautiful about it? You won’t see my precious Persephone ever again nor will she remember that you ever even existed. When she drinks from the river Lethe all she has ever known will be forgotten. So you will be all alone in the human world with no one looking for you, always remembering her, Persephone being the only one you will ever love, your heart an empty space that can’t ever be filled. Isn’t that wonderful?” Hades was smiling brightly now, showing his pearly white teeth, making the Siren gag, tears streaming down her face.  
  
Persephone’s screams only got louder, her hair tossing wildly back and forth as she shook her head in denial, fingernails digging into Hades’ arms.  
  
“Thelxiepeia, my love, I promise – I won’t ever forget you, I will be looking for you. No matter how long it will take, I will be always looking for you,” Persephone sobbed, tears streaming down her pretty face, her posture slumping down in Hades arms. “When all this here will be long forgotten, I will find you. I promise. We will be together, I will find a way. I promise you, my love.”  
  
“Isn’t that all so very touching,” Hades butted in, pouting. “I could clap my hands for this performance of devotion, but I won’t. Persephone, my love, this is not how the water from the river Lethe works.”  
  
He held her throat in a tight grip, pressing a thumb into her mouth so she would open it, Thelxiepeia screaming and screaming for no one to hear her, so she had to watch their most beloved person drink the liquid, Persephone’s face which had been previously twisted in pain turning indifferent and relaxed as soon as the first drop hit her tongue. She instantly stopped struggling, her eyes becoming clear again. With only one drop Hades had taken away all her personality, with only one drop Hades had been left with the wife he had always wanted her to be; a pretty shell with nothing inside.  
  
“Hello there Persephone, are you okay?” Hades’ voice sounded loving, not comparable to the spiteful one from seconds ago. Persephone blinked her eyes at him, questioning.  
  
“Persephone?” Persephone asked in return and at that moment something in the Siren’s heart broke into a million pieces, all her will to live gone.  
  
“Yes, that’s your name, my love. I’m Hades, the god of the Underworld, and you, my love, you are the queen of it,” he spoke sweetly, taking both her small hands into his, kissing her knuckles. The Siren felt how the weight was lifted off of her, but she didn’t move, didn’t try to fight back, didn’t try to do anything. She just lay there, crying, having lost all purpose in life.  
  
“My love, before we walk back and I show you around, I have to ask you for one little favor,” Hades began, still holding Persephone’s hands in his, the goddess only blinking.  
  
“A favor?” she asked, unknowing as she was, seemingly not at all repulsed by Hades’ presence.  
  
“Yes. Can you do something for me? See, we have this bug over there that has been very naughty. Can you hold my hand and all you have to do is flick your finger so we can make it disappear together? Do you think you can do that?” he asked as if he was talking to a child, Persephone only shortly glancing at the Siren before she turned back to Hades.  
  
“I can do that. It’s a very ugly bug,” she said with a nod, making Hades laugh.  
  
“Yes, it is, my love, come here.”  
  
With that Hades and Persephone came closer, the god of the Underworld not directing a single word at the Siren. Instead, he provokingly held Persephone’s hand and leaned forward to kiss her temple. He didn’t need Persephone’s help, nor did he have to flick his fingers to make Thelxiepeia disappear, it was all for show, for his cruel entertainment, a demonstration of power.  
  
“Persephone you can’t do that – stop. Persephone. Don’t!” A voice screamed and all eyes turned to its source, falling onto Aglaopheme who had been crouching in a corner, silently watching the scene unfold from the sidelines, blood trickling down her arms. Melodramatically Hades held his head and massaged his temple, a deep, exhausted sigh leaving his lips.  
  
“Oh my bad, I had forgotten all about you. Sweet Aglaopheme who was once loved by the Olympians for her beauty and is now even uglier than the Chimaera. Apollo would have nightmares if he knew that he lay with something so ugly looking,” Hades quipped and merely lifted a finger to make the Siren rise from the ground and pull her closer; fear visible in Aglaopheme’s eyes.  
  
“My beloved Persephone, I had forgotten all about the other bug. You know what’s worse than a traitor, my love?” Hades asked in the sweetest voice but didn’t wait for an answer before he said. “Mindless followers.”  
  
Thelxiepeia watched in horror as Hades’ started choking her sister without even moving, Aglaopheme holding onto her neck, chortling; eyes wide and frightened.  
  
“Losing not only love but family in a mere heartbeat, isn’t that poetic?”  
  
And with that Aglaopheme’s struggling intensified, her head turning red, veins popping up on her neck and temples, her eyes bulging, white foam coming out of her mouth. No matter how loud Thelxiepeia screamed no one heard her, and in shock she had to see her sister fight her last battle before she suddenly went motionless, her strained voice falling silent. Everything went by so quickly and Hades dropped her carelessly to the ground when he was done with unleashing his sadistic side, the siren tumbling down into the dust like a wet sack, eyes staring lifelessly into nothingness.  
  
“So, my lovely Persephone. I’m sorry you had to see this. I’m usually not like that,” Hades gestured mildly and stroked Persephone’s cheek with his forefinger before he turned back to Thelxiepeia, a devilish spark twinkling in his eyes as he looked at her.  
  
“Ready to help me out now, my love?” he asked Persephone sweetly, the Siren’s body shaking in anger, fury, and hopelessness. She tried to lock eyes with Persephone for one last time, tried to memorize her face, the little details she had loved so much about it, but the goddess didn’t even spare her a second glance, her focus lying completely on Hades next to her. When Persephone nodded, highly motivated, Thelxiepeia closed her eyes and the last thing she saw as Hades counted from three to one was the memory of Persephone’s face before everything around her turned black.


	10. Chapter 10

**Present day - South Korea - Seoul**

** **

onghyun, what did you just call me?” Taemin’s voice felt weak and choked up as he watched the man standing in front of him whose eyes looked as if he had seen a ghost. Without saying anything Jonghyun reached out to caress his cheek, touch so hesitant and uncertain that Taemin could barely feel it.  
  
“Jonghyun, what did you just call me?” he asked again, more urgent this time, his mind going dizzy. He hadn’t heard that name in over three thousand years.  
  
“It’s you, it’s really you, isn’t it? I’ve finally found you. After all this time.”  
  
There was a certain ring to Jonghyun’s voice that hadn’t been there before, something so familiar and yet so foreign. Overwhelmed by the touch Taemin recoiled and lowered his gaze, bringing distance between their bodies, his mind about to shut down. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be, it was impossible.  
  
“Thelxiepeia.”  
  
There was that name again, loud and clear, making something inside Taemin break.  
  
“Thelxiepeia, look at me, please.”  
  
“It’s impossible,” he whispered in deep shock, anguished by his thoughts, his hands shaking violently. Jonghyun was standing in front of him, speaking in an odd tongue.  
  
“Remember when we lay beneath the stars and I told you that I would take you there and you said it was impossible. I’ve already proven you wrong back then, haven’t I?”  
  
That comment made Taemin glance up, his heart beating too quickly in his chest to be healthy. With a deep frown on his face, he looked at Jonghyun, searching for any indication that this wasn’t just a vivid dream he would wake up from eventually. In front of him stood Jonghyun, the cute guy who had been so persistent and stubborn in becoming his friend. He still looked exactly the same and yet he appeared so different, reminding him of a person he had lost a long time ago. Taemin didn’t dare to say her name out loud, afraid of breaking the spell, afraid of being robbed again and being left alone in a world without her. But he had to know, he just had to.  
  
“Persephone?” Voice small and uncertain he murmured the name that carried so much sadness, a small shimmer sparking up in Jonghyun’s eyes, the corners of his lips curling up. A nod and a whispered ‘Yes’ let Taemin gasp, and he clasped his hands in front of his mouth, feeling his own eyes begin to water. Everything inside of him was reluctant to accept the truth standing right in front of him, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks when Jonghyun reached out again to take his hands, leading them to his mouth and kiss every knuckle while brushing his thumbs along the back of his hands, something Persephone had done so often in the past.  
  
“They are still so small,” Jonghyun noted in thought, looking at Taemin’s hands with a smile on his face. If this was all real, how was he so calm? How could he – she act as if they had met just the other day?  
  
“I don’t understand.”  
  
Taemin felt the same way he had when he had woken up in a foreign place and a different body after getting killed by Hades; lost and afraid, not knowing what to do and where to go.  
  
“I can explain it all – but later? Can I just – hug you for now?”  
  
Jonghyun’s arms were already around him before he even had the chance to answer, pressing him close to his chest, burying his nose in his neck. Temporarily stunned, Taemin let it all happen, not reciprocating the touch, but not avoiding it either. He hung in Jonghyun’s arms stiffly, arms falling to his side, chin resting on the other’s shoulder as he stared straight ahead, tears streaming down his face without him even noticing. It was all just too much. After walking around earth for thousands of years alone, knowing that all he had loved was forever lost, that all he knew was forever gone, his mind tormented by pictures of the deaths he had committed, and the agony of the people whose lives he had taken, weighing down heavily on him, it was hard to comprehend that there was still something else in life, that there was hope, that there was happiness, that something good could also happen to him.  
  
Standing around in silence for a while, Taemin slowly started to relax into Jonghyun’s arms, accepting the warmth he was radiating, feeling his chest heave with every breath. Despite not understanding anything he tried to trust the other, and let himself be open to the idea that destiny perhaps had miraculously brought his first and only love back to him in the form of a Korean, male, university student.  
  
“It feels weird – as if two souls are living inside of me now,” Jonghyun said after a while, snuffling, eyes red when he leaned back to look at Taemin again and take his face into both hands. “It feels like I’m me but also not.”  
  
Caressing Taemin’s cheeks gently, he stood there just gazing at him, almost as if he was seeing him for the very first time, taking in every detail of his face, trying to piece things together, to memorize it, to compare it to the face he knew from another life.  
  
“You look so different and yet you look exactly like you. How is that possible?” Jonghyun said softly, sounding almost confused as his fingers stroke along Taemin’s temples and down to his chin, tears disappearing between his lips as he spoke.  
  
“Hades probably thought it would be fun to turn me into something I hate the most – a man.”  
  
It was the first coherent sentence that left Taemin’s mouth, evoking a light chuckle from Jonghyun who tilted his head and combed his fingers through Taemin’s hair, twirling a blond lock around his finger.  
  
“And yet you fell for this one here, didn’t you?”  
  
Taemin blushed and lowered his gaze in shame, feeling like he had been caught cheating. Jonghyun snickered and leaned forward to press a kiss on his cheek; sweet and careful as if he was afraid of breaking him. “It’s okay. I always felt drawn towards you and never understood why. It was probably the same for you?”  
  
To Taemin it was hard to understand whom he was talking to, was it Jonghyun or was it Persephone or were it both at the same time, two minds occupying one body? Nodding meekly, Taemin grasped the hand still on his cheek and held it in a firm grip. He needed answers, he needed to comprehend.  
  
“Please explain to me what happened. First, you wanted to leave and I held you back by kissing you – and now – now you are not Jonghyun anymore – but Persephone?” It was hard to put his thoughts into the right order, eyebrows deeply furrowed.  
  
Jonghyun licked his lips as he looked around the room, seemingly searching for the rights words.  
  
“No, I’m still Jonghyun. It’s just –” he paused for a second and pressed his lips tightly together in thought. “Kissing you – it unleashed something – it – how should I put it.” Struggling, Jonghyun halted again and pulled his hand out of Taemin’s grasp. “Pythia told me that we would meet again if – if I gave my life into the hands of Thanatos, but she didn’t tell me when, where or how. She just said, not everything is lost and that she sees us being together dressed in the odd fashion of another time.”  
  
“The Oracle of Delphi? But how is that possible? You couldn’t remember who I was when Hades gave you water from the river Lethe. I saw it with my own eyes,” Taemin uttered hectically, remembering the moment all too clearly, the emptiness in Persephone’s eyes after her lips had touched the water, the pain he had felt as his heart had been broken.  
  
Fumbling with a thread on Taemin’s sweatshirt, Jonghyun took a deep breath, nodding along to Taemin’s words. “That’s true. I couldn’t remember anything for a few months, but the water of the river Lethe is reserved for mortals only and not for gods. It doesn’t have the same effect. Hades should have known, but he was so self-assured that he didn’t even deem it possible. Of course, I didn’t know either, but while strolling around in the gardens one day I suddenly started remembering things. At first, I thought those memories were just dreams, but with every passing day, bits and pieces came back to me until my memory was fully restored.”  
  
Jonghyun stopped there and wiped away some tears, taking a few long breaths before he continued.  
  
“Imagine you live your life peacefully and one day you wake up to realize that everything you’ve believed in is a lie and that the only person you’ve trusted turns out to be the biggest villain in the story.”  
  
Talking about it seemed almost too painful for Jonghyun, lips quivering as he spoke, hands distractingly rubbing the fabric of Taemin’s sweatshirt. Seeing the other like that, knowing that he wasn’t the only one who had suffered, broke his heart all over again. All this time he had thought Persephone had lived a life in bittersweet oblivion until the people had slowly stopped believing in the old gods in exchange for new ones, their power fading into obscurity as they weren’t worshipped anymore and had slowly disappeared from the surface of the earth one by one.  
  
“I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of this alone. I’m so sorry,” Taemin whispered sympathetically and was now the one who took Jonghyun into his arms, holding him close, wanting to dry his tears. He pressed his eyelids together as he heard the other's sobbing intensify, hands slinging around his waist, and fingertips digging into his back. It must have been hard to escape Hades’ claws to find the Oracle of Delphi, and it must have been even harder to decide on giving up her life in blind trust to be reborn again. How many lives she must have lived to find him, how many lives she must have lived in the deepest part of someone’s consciousness, waiting for a sign that had never come until she had been reborn in Jonghyun’s body and the two of them had met.  
  
“We’re here now, so it was all worth it, right?” Jonghyun sniveled, Taemin feeling the wetness of the other’s tears seep into his black sweatshirt.  
  
At midnight they changed the setting and dressed down to their underwear before crawling into Taemin’s bed, facing each other. They had spent the majority of the evening just talking about what had happened to the two of them while they had been apart, a few hours not capable of capturing thousands of years but surely enough to let the other know what places they had lived in and which events in history they had experienced first-hand, Jonghyun snickering silently when Taemin told him that he had helped to build parts of the Chinese wall.  
  
Aglaopheme, Taemin’s massive orange cat had settled down right between them on the blanket with a purr, licking her paws while the two humans couldn’t stop looking at each other with the light on Taemin’s nightstand turned on. They held hands, Jonghyun playing with the rings on Taemin’s fingers, his tears now replaced by a soft smile that didn’t want to leave his lips anymore.  
  
“I still can’t believe that I found you,” Jonghyun said for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night, Taemin’s eyes almost disappearing as he smiled brightly in return.  
  
“Neither can I,” he answered and squished his face deeper into the pillow beneath his head to get more comfortable. When Jonghyun started to giggle out of nowhere, Taemin blinked his eyes in confusion, not knowing what had been so funny.  
  
“I can’t wait to tell Kibum to be honest,” Jonghyun explained and hid his mouth beneath the blanket, eyes sparkling mischievously.  
  
Taemin frowned. “What do you want to tell him? That you are the Greek goddess of spring?”  
  
Jonghyun laughed at that and shook his head, raising their hands into the air, fingers interlaced.  
  
“Nope,” he said. “I want to tell him that I lay in bed with you – in my underwear.”  
  
The singer snorted at that and combed through his hair with his free hand. “If it gives you some sort of satisfaction I’m also going to kiss you in front of him free of charge next time we see him.”  
  
“You would do that?” Jonghyun asked, biting his lip playfully.  
  
Taemin nodded and said “Of course I would,” before he leaned over to press a soft kiss to his forehead, the smile on Jonghyun’s lips only widening.

  
  
~*~

  
_mango: are you alright?_  
_mango: u didn’t get home last n8._  
_mango: u don’t pick up your phone either. please contact me._  
  
That’s what the messages in Kakao Talk said after Jonghyun’s phone had started vibrating at 9 AM, Jonghyun barely able to decipher anything without wearing his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and then fell back into the cushions with a sigh, holding his phone in both hands.  
  
_jjong: sorry. i’m still at taemin’s_  
  
_mango: fuck me – no, you aren’t!_  
_mango: you are?_  
_mango: did you get laid?_  
_mango: can’t believe u did it. that’s my boy! _  
_mango: i’m so proud :’)_  
_mango: gotta tell Kibum – i wanna see his face. lmao_  
  
_jjong: no, i didn’t! you pervert!_  
_jjong: but i had a nice time anyway :))))))_  
  
As soon as he had sent the reply he saw Minho already typing another message, Jonghyun turning his head to look at Taemin while he waited for it. The other was still asleep, lips pouty and blonde strands of hair falling into his face. He couldn’t believe what had happened, what metamorphosis a simple kiss had set into motion. On the surface, he was still the same, looked the same, sounded the same, but on the inside, a whole new world had opened up in front of him. Jonghyun’s mind that had previously occupied a one-room apartment had now been extended to the size of a huge palace, giving him a completely new sense of life.  
  
_mango: liar! _  
  
_jjong: why would i lie about that?_  
  
_mango: true that … well, it’s not too late _  
_mango: morning sex can be a lot of fun ;)_  
  
With a snort, Jonghyun placed the phone back on the nightstand and dedicated himself to Taemin instead. How could he have thought about having sex with Taemin last night when there had been so many other things on his mind? He had been a fucking Greek goddess in his former life, sex kind of paled in comparison. Jonghyun turned onto his side when he felt Taemin move next to him, the other’s eyelashes fluttering and a low groan leaving his lips. He waited until his eyes opened to whisper a ‘Good morning’, two tired eyes staring at him; small and drowsy and slightly swollen from sleep.  
  
“G’morning,” Taemin replied with a sleepy smile, his voice breathy and lower than Jonghyun was used to. Gently moving a strand of hair out of Taemin’s face, Jonghyun snuggled up against him, blindly searching for his waist beneath the blanket to pull him closer, Taemin’s body feeling warm and cozy - and most importantly - like home. It was fascinating that Jonghyun had been wanting to do this – the kisses, the touches – for so long and now that he was able to, it felt so natural and not even the tiniest bit of awkward. It felt like he had touched Taemin a thousand times before which thinking about it now made somewhat sense. Jonghyun might have not touched Taemin like that but Persephone had. There was a welcome familiarity to it, a history their souls shared.  
  
“Did you sleep okay?”  
  
Jonghyun answered with an “Mmh,” and then brushed his lips against Taemin’s cheek before kissing it.  
  
“I still can’t believe what happened last night. It still feels like a dream I’m going to wake up from eventually,” Jonghyun said, caressing Taemin’s temples, and dwelling in the feeling of being able to look at the other freely without feeling guilty about it.  
  
Taemin carefully rolled them over then until he could lie between Jonghyun’s legs, Jonghyun feeling small knots building up inside his stomach. He knew these sensations from the past and yet they felt completely new and different, rushing over him and making his body tense. It had been over three thousand years since they had been this close.  
  
“I hope it has been a good dream so far,” Taemin uttered softly, his upper body propped up on his hands as he leaned down to give Jonghyun another kiss. Jonghyun smiled into it, placing one of his hands onto Taemin’s neck to pull him closer, the other hand disappearing beneath the blanket to caress his lower back.  
  
“Of course it is,” Jonghyun mumbled against his lips and lifted his pelvis only the tiniest bit, a little gasp falling from Taemin’s lips that sounded so beautiful that he repeated the motion only to hear it once more.  
  
“It’s good to finally know why your voice is so pretty.”  
  
There was a small chuckle before Taemin kissed him again, the two of them wanting to make up for three thousand years of being separated, not able to let go of each other, every kiss and every touch a promise to stay like this forever.  
  
“I’d like to take a shower. Would you like to join me?” Jonghyun asked innocently after a while, Taemin lifting his head from placing kisses along his neck. He nudged his nose against Jonghyun’s then, saying “That’s definitely the goddess and not the nerd talking here” the answer earning him a little theatrical huff.  
  
“Number one – I’m a nerd and proud of it and number 2 – I’m both now, get used to it,” he teased, pressing his pointer finger against Taemin’s arm. Grabbing Jonghyun’s finger, Taemin held onto it tightly to point out that “Neither Persephone nor Jonghyun have seen me like this though. In this body, I mean.”  
  
“All the more reason to take a proper look at it now, don’t you think?”  
  
Taemin eyed him a little skeptical for a moment, but then got up from his bed and asked Jonghyun to follow him. It was weird to walk behind him because something in Jonghyun's mind continuously mixed the things he saw right in front of him with the image of Thelxiepeia from his memory, the bodies overlapping almost, showing the difference but also the similarities. Their height and the small size of their waist was almost identical, but Taemin’s shoulders were broader while Thelxiepeia’s hips had been wider.  
  
After arriving in the bathroom Taemin immediately went over to the shower and turned it on, the prattling of water quickly filling the spacious room. That Taemin owned a luxurious apartment made all sense to Jonghyun now. Living and working for thousands of years Taemin must have accumulated an amount of money that would let him live comfortably for the rest of time, so it didn’t surprise him anymore that a bar singer could afford such a living environment.  
  
While Jonghyun didn’t hesitate to pull down his boxer briefs and step out of them, the unwillingness was obvious on Taemin’s face. His expression reminded him of the first time Thelxiepeia had taken off her clothes to be together with Persephone one summer night.  
  
“I will go first,” Jonghyun announced with an understanding smile and stepped into the floor-level shower, the water already nicely warm. He leaned his head back and enjoyed the feeling of water driblets falling onto his face, even catching some of them with his mouth. It didn’t take long before the shower door opened again and Jonghyun discreetly moved to the side to give Taemin more space, the other thanking him with a smile.  
  
“Usually, people have sex first before they shower together, don’t they?” he asked casually, apparently feeling more comfortable in his skin again as he raised his arms to comb his wet hair back with both hands.  
  
Jonghyun shrugged nonchalantly. “Probably? But we used to bathe together every day, remember?”  
  
“Of course I do,” Taemin smiled. “We just looked different back then.”  
  
Stepping closer, Jonghyun took a look at Taemin, his eyes traveling down to his chest before his hands did. “You are still the prettiest person I’ve ever seen, but I would be lying if I claimed that I don’t miss your boobs. You had the cutest boobs.”  
  
The comment made Taemin chuckle and he looked down at himself, placing his own hands on top of Jonghyun’s. “I had, hadn’t I? I always thought they were too small, but now –” he paused. “In retrospect, they were a lot of fun to have. But I lived long enough to get used to all the new equipment, so it’s okay.”  
  
“Equipment, huh?” Jonghyun laughed with a raised eyebrow, hands slowly trailing downwards, feeling the subtle lines of muscles beneath Taemin’s skin he crossed on his way to his navel. “The mole here – it’s still the same,” he pointed out, thumb stroking over a small brown dot right next to his belly button.  
  
He glanced up in curiosity when Taemin cupped his chin and lifted it, and began to smile when he was pulled in closer for a kiss. Taemin’s other hand followed quickly so he could hold Jonghyun’s face in both hands as he deepened the kiss, tongue finding its way into his mouth, evoking a little moan. Smiling into the kiss, Taemin slowly got braver, seemingly interested in exploring Jonghyun’s body.  
  
“When was the last time you were this close to someone?” Jonghyun gasped as he was pressed against the glass door of the shower with his back, Taemin holding onto his wrists as he bit into his neck and sucked on a piece of skin.  
  
“I don’t know. It’s been a while. Maybe when I was residing in England? Queen Victoria was still reigning,” Taemin murmured against his skin and then squatted down, hands sliding along Jonghyun’s torso until they came to rest on his waist.  
  
Jonghyun gulped as Taemin’s lips pressed against his hipbone and then lower on his thigh, nibbling on the soft flesh he found with his teeth. Rolling his eyes back in his head Jonghyun’s hands looked for support by pressing against the glass behind him, the feelings sweeping over his body, exhilarating. It almost felt like he received pleasure for two, parts of his body responding to touches that had never been particularly receptive to sensations before.  
  
“With who?” Jonghyun asked, his voice shaking as he pressed further into the glass, hands sliding over the steamed shower door with a wet, squeaking sound.  
  
“A maiden who worked for a family I was acquainted with. She reminded me of you,” Taemin explained between kisses, face flushed from the warmth in the shower. When Taemin’s tongue found its way between his thighs, Jonghyun almost buckled, eyes tearing up as he felt the most intense sensation, a moan erupting from the deepest part of his gut.  
  
“Fuck.”  
  
“You didn’t use those kinds of words back then,” Taemin teased and let go of Jonghyun for a moment, the other immediately urging him to continue by pulling his head back towards him, his need for communication momentarily forgotten as his arousal rose.  
  
“But I do now,” he wailed impatiently, almost banging his head against the shower door when Taemin decided to bring him pleasure he didn’t know he was capable of only with his tongue, his mouth, and a smug grin on his face.


	11. Epilogue

** **

**Epilogue **

**Present day – South Korea - Seoul**

**One month later**

** **

onghyun sat at the counter of the little bar_ Maison de l'arc-en-ciel_ with a small bowl with peanuts and a glass of coke, his roommate Minho seated right next to him. It was a calm Saturday, most students having gone home for a visit to their parents after the last exams for the term had been written, only a handful of regulars Jonghyun had seen plenty of times occupying the small tables to have a drink and relax after a long day.  
  
“I kid you not, that cashier working downstairs at the 7-eleven keeps staring at my ass whenever I drop by to get lunch or something,” Minho kept claiming at the top of his lungs, tapping his hand flatly on the countertop for emphasis while holding onto a beer bottle with the other.  
  
Wheezing in disbelief Kibum rolled his eyes at him while professionally mixing several drinks for a small group of friends sitting at a table in the corner. “You wish. Nobody’s voluntarily staring at that flat thing.”  
  
Deeply offended and already slightly tipsy, Minho stood up and bent over to demonstrate what a lovely butt he had by clapping on it several times and wiggling it around.  
  
“Is that ass a joke to you?” he almost yelled, the majority of people inside the bar turning their heads curiously towards Minho while Jonghyun wanted to bury himself in a hole out of secondhand embarrassment.  
  
“It is. Two flat pancakes,” Kibum continued to provoke, causing another shocked sound to fall from Minho’s lips. He then turned towards Jonghyun and pointed at Kibum in clear disbelief.  
  
“Can you believe that guy? I’m basically paying his rent by stopping by so often and that’s how he shows his gratitude. Unbelievable!”  
  
Minho surely wasn’t Kim Kardashian, but compared to Jonghyun he carried two globes around. Jonghyun knew that Kibum was just teasing Minho because the other had criticized Kibum’s new haircut earlier that night, a short buzzcut dyed in platinum blond. It required getting used to, but if someone could pull it off it was Kibum.  
  
“We’re not a charity case. You are free to go to any other bar in town and now get up and bring this tray over to those ladies. Shoo! Shoo!” Kibum ordered in a bossy tone without paying any attention to Minho’s complains and placed the tray right in front of Minho on the counter, the other only gaping at him. They stared at each other for a moment and whatever they told each other without uttering a single word, Minho eventually stood up and picked up the tray, carrying it over to the ladies while grumbling under his breath.  
  
“You two are hilarious,” Jonghyun commented when Minho was out of sight and grabbed a handful of peanuts to stuff his mouth with them.  
  
“You are welcome. It’s always a pleasure to entertain you.” Kibum dropped a curtsey to which Jonghyun bowed his head in response, both of them laughing at the exchange of courtesies. When the entrance door opened Jonghyun’s focus immediately shifted, a smile spreading onto his lips as Taemin entered the bar, guitar case on his back. He looked cute; wearing a black fedora on his head and a jeans jacket above a black T-shirt of the band KORN.  
  
They had already seen each other earlier that day when they had grabbed lunch together at a cute Café near Hapjeong station and Taemin had escorted him to his job at the library afterward, but even that separation had felt like an eternity to Jonghyun, though he knew that this was ridiculous, considering that before a month ago they hadn’t seen each other for over three thousand years.  
  
Jonghyun had quickly adapted to his new mind extension, feeling like a spy somehow for caring all of Persephone’s knowledge and wisdom. After all, knowing ancient Greek fluently all of a sudden had helped him tremendously in his studies and he found himself shaking his head often these days when he read translations that he deemed as plain wrong now.  
  
“Hey,” Taemin greeted Kibum with a wave of his hand and then looked over at Jonghyun with a toothy grin. He leaned down to cup Jonghyun’s face and kiss him, prolonging the contact by swiping the tip of his tongue against the seam of Jonghyun’s lips with a low, happy hum. Though Jonghyun knew that Taemin enjoyed doing that, demonstrating it in front of Kibum was for mere entertainment purposes. Kibum had been convinced Minho, Jonghyun and Taemin had conspired against him when Taemin had kissed Jonghyun in front of him for the first time, some odd prank Kibum was sure the three of them had pulled because they thought it was funny. It had taken him almost a week and a heavy make-out session he had interrupted while checking the toilets for cleanliness to finally realize that none of them were joking and that Jonghyun indeed had breached the Chinese wall.  
  
“Couples are not allowed here,” Kibum whistled and threw a dry cloth at them, Taemin immediately stepping back with a disgusted look on his face. “At least as long as I have no one to stick my tongue into,” he added with a shrug and batted his eyes innocently at Taemin and Jonghyun who shook their heads at him in amusement.  
  
“Table three wants more beer,” Minho announced when he came back from fulfilling Kibum’s command and dropped the tray ungracefully on the countertop before he turned towards Taemin and slapped his hand in a high-five to welcome him.  
  
“How much is more beer? How many bottles are we talking about here?” Kibum asked and rolled his eyes when Minho just shrugged unknowingly. Jonghyun was surprised that Kibum’s eyes hadn’t already fallen out by now from the constant rolling around they did.  
  
“No idea, they just want more beer.”  
  
“You are the most useless waiter ever,” Kibum sighed and took the tray himself to walk back over to table three and confirm orders.  
  
“Suits me because I don’t even fucking work here,” Minho called after him and childishly stuck out his tongue when Kibum gave him the middle finger.  
  
“I could cut that pent up sexual tension,” Jonghyun snickered, forming a scissor with his fingers. Minho only nudged his upper arm in return and sat back on the barstool to take a sip from his beer bottle, complaining about Kibum’s bossiness the time it took the other to walk over to table three and take orders and come back to the counter again, ending his tirade with “I like Jinki way more than you.”  
  
That comment only got him an “I also like Jonghyun more than you. Good thing we got that out of the way” before he started aggressively scrubbing the dirty glasses in the sink.  
  
“Do you think you will manage with those two? I have to get going and set everything up on stage,” Taemin whispered close into Jonghyun’s ear, one hand on his shoulder, the vibration of his voice letting the hairs in Jonghyun’s nape stand up. When he nodded with a smile, Taemin leaned down again to give him one last kiss; sweet and soft like all their kisses were. He then left the three men at the bar to walk over to the stage, running through his usual routine of plugging his guitar into the amplifier, tuning the strings, and adjusting the height of the microphone stand.  
  
“I’m sorry that it took so long, but I had our supplier on the phone. There were some problems with the last delivery and I was finally able to reach him,” Jinki said out of breath as he stumbled out of the little office at the end of the counter a little later, Kibum letting out a sigh of relief when he saw his co-owner back in the flesh.  
  
“Finally,” Kibum exclaimed and pushed the tray of beer into Jinki’s arms and sent him the sweetest smile along with it. “It’s table three.”  
  
“Aye, aye captain!” Jinki saluted jokingly and clicked his heels, carrying out the task without any complaints. Kibum shot a glance at Minho then and pointed at Jinki, giving him a thumbs-up, Minho answering that non-verbal attack by throwing a peanut at him.  
  
Meanwhile, Jonghyun just sat on his barstool and watched as Taemin tested out the volume of the microphone, a fond smile appearing on his lips when there was an acoustic feedback and Taemin instantly started frowning adorably and turned back to the controls. It took him a few minutes until the sound came out correctly and he began playing the first song, an old number called ‘I’ll become dust’ by the singer Kim Kwangseok.  
  
Whatever had happened between them in the past month; the conversations, the banter, the sex, it hadn’t changed the feeling that overcame Jonghyun whenever Taemin began to sing, his velvety voice wrapping him up in a blanket and carrying him around. He was sure that he would never get enough of that voice that had stolen his heart such a long time ago, his heart beating faster whenever he looked at his little Siren called Thelxiepeia.

** **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! ❤
> 
> 'Newer' fanfics can be found on my AO3 profile, and my complete fanfiction list can be found [_**here**_](https://lala-pipo.livejournal.com/794.html)


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